Photo Credit: Baptista Ime James

A second Jane Doe accusing Diddy of sexual assault could be forced out of anonymity as a separate federal judge weighs in.

After a federal judge determined that an anonymous Jane Doe accuser of Sean “Diddy” Combs can’t proceed under a pseudonym, another Jane Doe accuser might be forced out of anonymity as a result. Another judge has weighed in on the issue, allowing her to continue as filed as long as the defense does not object. The second Doe case was filed on October 20.

“In determining whether a plaintiff may remain anonymous, the Court must balance the plaintiff’s interest in anonymity […] against both the public interest in disclosure and any prejudice to the defendant,” wrote United States District Judge Vernon S. Broderick.

“Plaintiff’s interest in anonymity stems from her allegations that she was drugged and raped by Sean Combs — a celebrity now under indictment for sex trafficking — and possibly one or more of his associates,” the judge continues. “She argues that disclosing her identity will cause her to re-live the trauma of being raped, subject her to unwanted media attention, and expose her to potential retaliation.”

“The motion is unopposed at this time, so any objection Defendants may have to the motion, including the extent of any prejudice Defendants may claim to face, is unclear,” writes Judge Broderick. “Accordingly, it is hereby ordered that Plaintiff’s motion to proceed anonymously is granted pending Defendants’ appearance. No later than seven days following Defendants’ appearance, Plaintiff shall file a letter on the docket indicating whether she intends to either renew her motion on the papers already submitted or file new motion papers.”

“It is further ordered that Defendants shall file any opposition to the motion to proceed anonymously no later than 21 days after being served with the complaint.”

Federal Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil ruled that the first Jane Doe could not continue under a pseudonym, and must refile under her real name by November 13. Despite arguing that the case should be permitted to go forward as-is due to the plaintiff’s fear that Combs would retaliate, Judge Vyskocil disagreed, given that Combs is currently detained pending his trial next year.

Both lawsuits are part of over a dozen similar filings against Combs since his arrest on sex trafficking and racketeering charges in September. All are represented by attorney Tony Buzbee, who teased an onslaught of over 120 lawsuits to be filed in the coming weeks against Combs.

Photo Credit: Matthew Hamilton

Adidas reaches an out-of-court settlement with rapper Ye to put an end to legal proceedings between the two entities.

Adidas has reached an out-of-court settlement with rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, to end all legal proceedings between the two. The company confirmed the news today, Tuesday, October 29. Adidas added that no money changed hands in the agreement.

The sportswear brand and the rapper had been locked in legal battle across multiple lawsuits over the past couple of years, since Adidas terminated its partnership with Ye over antisemitic comments he made on social media and in interviews.

CEO Bjorn Gulden told reporters on a conference call, “There isn’t any more open issues, and there is no money going either way, and we both move on.” Further details of the deal were not provided.

“There were tensions on many issues, and […] when you put the claims on the right side and you put the claims on the left side, both parties said, ‘we don’t need to fight anymore,’ and withdrew all the claims,” Gulden continued.

That said, Financial Times reported Adidas received over $108 million (€100 million) from the settlement with Ye, which involved unwinding a previous provision relating to outstanding legal issues that are now resolved.

This money, along with another €150 million, is earmarked for charity, the company confirmed. Last year, Adidas set up an independent non-profit foundation to oversee the distribution of those funds to “promote social and environmental progress.”

Gulden also confirmed that Adidas will sell the remainder of its leftover Yeezy stock by the end of this year, in what it calls the final chapter of the relationship. Afterward, “there are no open issues between us.”

The news comes as Adidas reports robust sales growth in China and the US in the three months ending in September. This number accounts for Yeezy sales made in the prior year being stripped out for comparison. “The third quarter was a very strong quarter for us and again, better than expected,” says Gulden.

Photo Credit: Michael Rapino

Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino is being deposed in ongoing litigation surrounding the Astroworld case following the Texas Supreme Court’s ruling.

Despite Live Nation’s insistence that CEO Michael Rapino had no reason to be deposed over the deadly crowd crush event during Astroworld in 2021, the Texas Supreme Court sees things differently.

Rapino is being deposed in the ongoing litigation over the tragedy after the Texas Supreme Court agreed with the victims’ lawyers that the Live Nation CEO had direct involvement in key decisions. In a ruling last week, the court denied Live Nation’s petition seeking to block the deposition.

Live Nation’s attorneys argued Rapino was the sort of high-level “apex” executive who simply can’t be dragged into court cases, asserting that he was far removed from the actual decision-making surrounding the festival.

But the victims’ attorneys insisted that Rapino’s role in Astroworld was much more direct than the company would admit. Part of their evidence to that end included an email Rapino sent on the night of the disaster, instructing Live Nation’s festival director to wait for more information about the total death toll before canceling the rest of the festival. In that email, Rapino wrote, “If 5 died we would cancel.”

“Live Nation claims that Rapino was not the decision maker on whether to cancel the festival,” wrote the victims’ attorneys. “This email proves otherwise, and plaintiffs want an opportunity to examine Rapino about it.”

The ruling comes almost three years after the incident at the 2021 Astroworld festival during Travis Scott’s headlining set that left 10 dead and hundreds more injured. The tragedy led to hundreds of lawsuits against organizer Live Nation, Scott, and other key figures, seeking billions in damages altogether. Some of those cases have been settled privately, but some victims and their families are still moving toward a jury trial.

It’s as yet unknown when Rapino’s deposition will ultimately take place.

Photo Credit: Scott Graham

A second wave of lawsuits hits Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, filed on behalf of seven more accusers, some of whom claim abuse as recently as 2022.

A new round of lawsuits has been filed against Sean “Diddy” Combs, including an allegation that he drugged and raped a 13-year-old girl with an unnamed male and female celebrity. Some of the latest accusers claim abuse as recently as 2022.

The plaintiffs, all of whom are using a John or Jane Doe pseudonym to retain anonymity, are represented by attorney Tony Buzbee, who has previously announced he is representing over 120 clients against Combs. Buzbee filed a batch of lawsuits against the disgraced media mogul last week.

One of the new lawsuits comes from a Jane Doe who was 13 years old in 2000, when she tried to attend the MTV Video Music Awards, but could not get in without a ticket. She says she approached several limousine drivers after the event to see if she could attend an afterparty. One driver allegedly worked for Combs and took the plaintiff to a party where she was made to sign a non-disclosure agreement and was given a drink.

The plaintiff says she “began to feel woozy and lightheaded” after one drink, and went to lie down in an empty bedroom. Combs and an unnamed “male and female celebrity” allegedly entered, whereupon the plaintiff says she was raped by the male celebrity while the female celebrity watched, and then was raped by Combs as both celebrities watched.

Another plaintiff, a personal trainer, says he was drugged in 2022, on the night Combs was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BET Awards. According to the plaintiff, his “unconscious body” was passed around at an afterparty “like a party favor for [Combs’ guests’] sexual enjoyment.”

As the lawsuits against the Bad Boy Entertainment founder continue to mount, Combs’ defense team filed a motion with U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, asking for a gag order to prohibit “further extrajudicial statements from prospective witnesses and their lawyers that substantially interfere with Mr. Combs’ right to a fair trial.”

Before the initial round of Buzbee lawsuits, Combs was already facing at least a dozen other complaints alleging sexual abuse. Combs is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn after his arrest on September 16 by Homeland Security on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, but was twice denied bail and is set to remain behind bars until his trial in May 2025.

Photo Credit: Tingey Law

Lawyers for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs ask a New York judge to release the identities of his accusers in the sex trafficking case against him.

Lawyers representing Sean “Diddy” Combs asked a New York judge on Tuesday to order prosecutors to release the names of his accusers in the federal sex trafficking case against him. The attorneys wrote in their letter to a Manhattan federal judge that Combs needs to know the identities of the alleged victims in order to adequately prepare for the trial, which is set to kick off on May 5.

The 54-year-old music mogul has been held without bail since his September 16 arrest for sex trafficking and racketeering charges in a federal case against him. He has pleaded not guilty.

His lawyers have asked a federal appeals court to allow him to be freed to home detention to enable them to more easily meet with their client and prepare for the trial. But judges have thus far concluded that Combs is a danger to the community and must remain incarcerated.

The request to identify Combs’ accusers comes just after six new lawsuits were filed anonymously against him to protect the identities of the alleged victims. Of the six new lawsuits, two of the accusers were identified as Jane Does, while the other four were listed as John Does. Each of the lawsuits claims Combs used his fame and promises of furthering the victims’ prospects in the music industry to entice them to attend parties or social events where he then sexually assaulted them.

These six new plaintiffs are part of what their attorneys say is a group of over 100 accusers still in the process of filing legal claims against Combs. According to his defense team, Combs’ fame and the “publicity of his previously settled lawsuit,” referring to the lawsuit filed by his former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, in November, has led to the numerous allegations filed against him.

HIs lawyers assert that the mounting lawsuits and their “swirling allegations have created a hysterical media circus that, if left unchecked, will irreparably deprive Mr. Combs of a fair trial, if they haven’t already.” Their letter asks that the government identify the alleged victims so Combs knows which allegations prosecutors are relying on in their indictment against him.

“To the extent Mr. Combs is forced to mount a defense against criminal allegations that the government does not seek to prove at trial, he is entitled to know that,” their letter reads.

The indictment contains allegations that Combs coerced and abused women for many years with the help of a network of employees and other associates, using blackmail and violence to keep victims compliant and prevent them from speaking out.

Photo Credit: Macy’s Herald Square by Ajay Suresh / CC by 2.0

Macy’s has been accused of covering up a sexual assault by Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in the latest lawsuit against the disgraced music mogul.

In the latest of the seemingly endless lawsuits against Sean “Diddy” Combs, Macy’s is accused of covering of one of the disgraced rapper and music mogul’s alleged sexual assaults in order to protect its interests in a lucrative deal with his clothing brand.

Filed by a John Doe in Ohio this week, the lawsuit alleges that Combs orally raped a man in 2008 while he was working in the stockroom of Macy’s flagship store in Herald Square in Manhattan. The man, who says he worked as an advisor for Combs’ rival clothing company, Ecko Unltd, claims he was “violently attacked” by Combs’ bodyguards, who threatened his life. Combs then allegedly forced him to perform oral sex on him while he called him “Ecko.”

The John Doe says he reported the assault to Macy’s security, but received no follow up and was later “barred from the store.”

“Approximately three weeks later, Terry Lundgren, CEO of Macy’s, pressured Ecko Unltd executives to fire plaintiff because Macy’s had just signed a multi-billion-dollar deal with Sean John Clothing,” the lawsuit reads.

The plaintiff says he “believes that the report of the assault was destroyed or otherwise purged from Macy’s records, and no action was ever taken as a result of the report.”

The allegations are the latest against Combs, who was arrested in September after he was indicted by a grand jury on federal charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. Since then, at least six anonymous lawsuits against Combs have been filed in Manhattan, some of which allege molestation of minors as early as 1995.

Meanwhile, a group of over 100 alleged victims are in the process of formalizing legal action against Combs, who has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges against him. He has been held without bail at a federal jail in Brooklyn since his arrest in September.

Photo Credit: Jonathan Kemper

Documents uncovered in the state’s attorneys general investigation against TikTok have uncovered that the social media giant knew how addictive its algorithm is to teenagers and that they are being exploited on the platform.

The confidential material uncovered was part of an investigation led by 14 attorneys general—which led to state officials suing TikTok last week. The lawsuit states that TikTok is designed with the express intention of addicting young people to the app, which can happen in as few as 260 videos. States argue that TikTok has deceived the public about risks associated with the app.

Dozens of internal communications, documents, and research were redacted in documents provided to authorities. But one document provided to the Kentucky Attorney General’s office was not redacted and Kentucky Public Radio was able to discern some 30 pages of documents that were kept secret. KPR published some excerpts of the redacted material, which contains candid comments from TikTok executives discussing the dangers for children on the app.

The material contained summaries of internal studies and communications and conversation around time-management tools. Executives determined that these tools would have a negligible reduction in screen time, but TikTok went ahead and promoted them anyway. Another document reveals that executives were aware of the addictive nature of the algorithm, leading to an almost irresistible urge to keep opening the app.

“Compulsive usage correlates with a slew of negative mental health effects like loss of analytical skills, memory formation, contextual thinking, conversational depth, empathy, and increased anxiety,” reads TikTok’s own research quoted in the lawsuit. TikTok was also aware that the level of addictiveness presented by the app could disrupt personal lives. “Compulsive usage also interferes with essential personal responsibilities like sufficient sleep, work/school responsibilities, and connecting with loved ones.”

The documents also reveal that TikTok’s touted features about limiting the amount of time a child spends with the app were designed to increase public trust rather than actually limit addictive behaviors. After internal testing, TikTok found that these tools had a negligible impact on the amount of time teens were spending in the app—leading to a 1.5 minute drop in usage. TikTok estimates teens spend about 107 minutes per day in the app.

Aside from the addictive nature of the app, the documents also uncovered censorship efforts that Digital Music News reported on back in 2020. When TikTok discovered that a “high volume of … not attractive subjects” were filling the algorithm, the company retooled it to amplify what it considered to be attractive. Digital Music News also reported on TikTok’s efforts to hide disabled persons and LGBTQ+ people from the main ‘For You’ algorithm-driven feed during its meteoric growth phase.

TikTok’s research determined that the best way to get people sucked into the app was to target younger users. “As expected, across most engagement metrics, the younger the user, the better the performance,” reads a TikTok document from 2019.

TikTok was also aware of the underage stripping phenomenon of underage kid essentially performing strip-teases for money on the app. TikTok discovered a significant number of adults who were direct messaging underage TikTok users about stripping live on the platform for monetary rewards in the form of gifts or coins. According to TikTok’s own research, more than one million gifts were sent to kids who engaged in transactional behavior with an adult.

“[O]ne of our key discoveries during this project that has turned into a major challenge with Live business is that the content that gets the highest engagement may not be the content we want on our platform,” reads one message from a TikTok official. Documents also show that TikTok is slow to remove users under 13 despite laws—largely because this cohort is the most impacted by its addictive algorithm.

Photo Credit: Roblox

Roblox has a child exploitation problem on its hands that seems impossible to moderate. Short-seller Hindenburg Research has highlighted just how much child exploitation takes place on the platform—with some sickening examples.

The initial report, “Roblox: Inflated Key Metrics for Wall Street and a Pedophile Hellscape For Kids” was released last Tuesday, which Digital Music News covered. But now researchers behind the report have shared some of the details of what they discovered. Researchers discovered at least 73 groups on Roblox that are open to all ages and solicit child sexual abuse material (CSAM). While Roblox has since deleted some of the groups since the report came out, the result is playing whack-a-mole with CSAM.

Hindenburg Research says this list is non-exhaustive, but just a small sample of the pedophile chat groups that operate inside of Roblox. Roblox has publicly ‘rejected’ these claims—but the evidence is piling up.

“Safety and civility have been foundational to Roblox since the company’s inception nearly two decades ago,” Roblox says in an official statement about the report. “Every day, tens of millions of users of all ages have safe and positive experiences on Roblox. Roblox takes any content or behavior on the platform that doesn’t abide by its standards extremely seriously, and Roblox has a robust set of proactive and preventative safety measures designed to catch and prevent malicious or harmful activity on the platform.”

Roblox says it refutes the financial claims made by Hindenburg Research in its report, but behind the scenes it quietly removed many of the games highlighted in the report. Those games include:

• ‘Escape to Epstein Island’
• ‘Beat Up People Outside of a 7/11 Simulator’
• ‘Throw Bricks at Homeless People’
• ‘Public Bathroom Simulator’

But Hindenburg Research highlights just how many more games are available. Several Public Bathroom Simulator games are available on Roblox, as is a game called ‘Escape The Freaky Diddy Party Mansion.’ All of these games are marked for kids of all ages.

Hindenburg also highlights some of the usernames that are still active on Roblox, using numbers and symbols to hide their meaning. Names like R8PMINERS for ‘rape minors’ and R8PlilKIDS for ‘rape little kids.’ The report also highlights how CSAM users who utilize Roblox to exploit children behave on the platform. Many of them speak in Morse code to avoid Roblox filters for words that traditionally hid CSAM, like calling it ‘cheese pizza.’

Hindenburg Research showcased several screenshots of Roblox profiles with morse code statements. Those statements translated read, “I’m a boy I trade nudes any age on Discord I also RP but I am unexperienced” and “BBC Bull for Snowbunnys, Condos/Trading or watch porn with me. Ask for my Discord, Snapchat, or Twitter. Use Emoji for no hash.” The porn terms referenced in that message equate to ‘big black c*ck’, while the term Snowbunny is a derogatory pornographic term for an attractive white woman.

While Hindenburg Research raises these concerns as an activist short-seller, they are not false allegations. Digital Music News has seen proof of several user accounts, games, and interactions inside Roblox intended to facilitate CSAM from minors by driving them to other platforms including Discord and Snapchat.

“Regarding the issue we raised of inflated key investor metrics, Roblox failed to respond to our allegation that for years it has been lying about the number of people on its platform, including in dozens of regulatory filings, press releases, and public appearances,” Nate Anderson, Founder of Hindenburg Research tells Digital Music News. “The company also did not address evidence showing that its ‘engagement hours’ metric is misleading and includes numerous ‘zombie hours.'”

Anderson says following the report, numerous people reached out to share their stories on the platform—either as children being exposed to illicit content and grooming or as parents of children who were exposed to CSAM.

Photo Credit: Chris Brown by Eva Rinaldi / CC by 2.0

Chris Brown’s domestic violence accuser has revealed her identity ahead of a bombshell new documentary on the singer.

Earlier this month, a woman who accused Chris Brown of attacking her in 2016, has come forward for the first time on social media to reveal her identity ahead of her appearance in a new documentary about Brown. The film, Chris Brown: A History of Violence, was announced by Investigation Discovery in September.

A trailer for the film revealed that a new accuser would tell their story for the first time. That accuser is now known to be Liziane Gutierrez. In her Instagram post, Gutierrez wrote she isn’t sure if she’s “psychologically ready to face the consequences of appearing in this documentary,” but she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to let people know what she had been through and to tell her side of the story.

“Several women agreed to participate and share their stories. We all went through a similar situation,” she wrote. “We can’t be against domestic violence and simply ignore some cases, or, even worse, blame the victim. This is an investigative documentary in which I provided some evidence from the facts that happened with me back in 2016.”

“I can’t say much now, but please watch it when it airs on October 27, and then we can talk more about it once it’s released,” Gutierrez continued. “For now, I’m just going to leave a question for [you] all: If someone is lying about you, would you pay for their silence?”

The public has general knowledge of Chris Brown’s attack on Rihanna in 2009, in addition to alleged sexual assaults throughout his career. But the documentary will reportedly focus on previously unknown cases, such as Gutierrez and her story.

“With expert and cultural commentary layered in throughout, the documentary provides thoughtful reflections into each survivor’s experience and the psychological destruction in the aftermath of their abuse,” said the film’s producers in a statement.

Photo Credit: R. Kelly by comechatwidmi / CC by 3.0

The daughter of disgraced singer R. Kelly accuses him of sexually abusing her when she was a child.

Buku Abi, the 26-year-old daughter of disgraced singer R. Kelly, has accused the singer of sexually abusing her when she was a child. Abi, a musician herself, made the claim as part of a two-episode documentary, Karma: A Daughter’s Journey, in which she says her father abused her when she was about eight or nine years old.

The 57-year-old Kelly was imprisoned in June 2022 with charges of racketeering and sex trafficking after decades of allegations of misconduct involving young women and children. He was sentenced to 30 years after he was found guilty of a scheme to entice and sexually exploit underage children and young aspiring singers.

Abi says she first reported her father’s alleged abuse to her mother in 2009, when she was about 10 years old. “He was my everything. For a long time, I didn’t even want to believe that it happened,” she says in the documentary. “I didn’t know that even if he was a bad person that he would do something to me.”

Kelly’s lawyers tried unsuccessfully to have him acquitted and demand a retrial, arguing his defense team was ineffective and prosecutors “misused” the racketeering charge against him. He was found guilty of racketeering amounting to a criminal enterprise for his “entourage of managers and aides” who helped the singer meet girls, and keep them “obedient and quiet.”

Abi’s allegations against her father come as Sean “Diddy” Combs faces a similar trial, having appeared before Judge Arun Subramanian in Manhattan federal court last week. Combs was charged last month with racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking, based on allegations dating back nearly 20 years. New allegations against Diddy continue to pile up, with figures like R. Kelly and Kanye West named.

Photo Credit: Kanye West by Kenny Sun / CC by 2.0

Kanye West’s former assistant has accused the rapper of drugging and raping her at a Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs party in a new lawsuit.

An assistant to the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, Lauren Pisciotta, has filed a lawsuit accusing West of drugging and raping her at a party he co-hosted with Sean “Diddy” Combs. The lawsuit, filed on October 11, consists of 88 pages and makes numerous allegations against West, who now goes by Ye.

Pisciotta’s lawsuit says that before working with West, she attended a party in Santa Monica that he co-hosted with Combs. At the party, West allegedly gave her a beverage and told all attendees that they needed to drink what they were offered if they wanted to stay at the event. Pisciotta says after a few sips of the drink, she “started to feel disoriented and […] began to slip into an altered and highly impaired state.”

“She felt less in control of her body and speech, and that is where [her] memories of the night escape her,” the filing reads. Pisciotta says the following day, she felt “ashamed and embarrassed” because she could not remember what happened at the party. Her filing claims she believed for several years that she had been drugged by a studio assistant, and had managed to make it out of the situation without incident.

But Pisciotta alleges in her filing that West told her what had actually occurred shortly before he fired her from her job in November 2022. West had been angry following a remark by his ex-wife — who is not named in the suit — about an alleged affair between himself and Pisciotta. Pisciotta then claims she intended to tell West’s ex-wife that nothing intimate happened between herself and West, before he allegedly stopped her and told her, “We did kind of hook up a little one time.”

“[West] then immediately proceeded to reminisce about the time he was referring to […] where he ‘hooked up’ with [Pisciotta] after she had been drugged,” the filing claims. Further, Pisciotta says West told his ex-wife about the alleged “hook up,” but “left out the true nature and severity of what he did to [her].”

The lawsuit, which describes West as “predatory, aggressive, compulsive, vulgar, perverse, and frighteningly calculative,” alleges to various forms of inappropriate behavior on West’s part behind the scenes at his company. Aside from Pisciotta’s claims, allegations include West being a “premeditative and sadistic groomer” who used his image to “feed his desires for sexual pleasure with no boundaries.”

The filing claims West would have sex with “various employees with different guests,” which included staff creating makeshift bedrooms throughout the office, from bathrooms to closets and changing rooms.

Pisciotta also alleges that West tried to “gift” her to an unnamed “A-list celebrity” who is said to have informed her of West’s intentions. She says West would use his contacts at major companies to bring women into the United States with “obscure job titles” who were then “offered up” to various men.

Pisciotta first accused West of sexual misconduct back in June, but he vehemently denied the allegations and vowed to file a lawsuit against her. West has yet to comment on the allegations in Pisciotta’s lawsuit.

Photo Credit: Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg by Jason Persse / CC by 2.0

A marriage counselor is suing Dr. Dre for at least $10 million with allegations of systematic harassment and threats.

Dr. Charles Sophy, a divorce psychotherapist in Southern California, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against rapper and business mogul Dr. Dre with allegations of “systematic and malicious” threats and harassment.

Dr. Sophy is suing Dre for at least $10 million, alleging the rapper subjected him to a barrage of “unbearable harassment” that left him fearing for his life and wearing a bulletproof vest.

According to the lawsuit, Dr. Dre, whose real name is Andre Young, hired Dr. Sophy in 2018 to mediate the breakdown of his lengthy marriage to his now former wife, Nicole Young. Dr. Sophy says he worked “diligently, independently, and fairly,” to help the couple resolve their differences, and the pair reached a settlement in 2021.

But about 14 months later, Dr. Sophy says Dre began texting him with allegations that the doctor had somehow acted improperly, which he denies. “Rather than treating the mediation process as an opportunity for healing, Young decided to take his frustrations about the mediation out on Dr. Sophy — frustrations that manifested themselves in the form of a nearly year-long sustained campaign of late-night texts, threats of intimidation and violence, and homophobic rhetoric.”

Dre’s lawyer, Howard King, told Rolling Stone that the rapper previously filed a “confidential complaint” against Dr. Sophy with the Osteopathic Medical Board of California last year, seeking “to get Dr. Sophy punished for dereliction of duties and incredible incompetence.”

That complaint seeks “revocation of Dr. Sophy’s license to provide mental health counseling to needy patients,” says King. “In gross violation of all applicable standards of care, Dr. Sophy inserted himself into a contentious divorce while he simultaneously ‘treated’ not only Mr. and Mrs. Young, but their children.”

“He was terminated when it was revealed he was encouraging one of their children to take sides against Mr. Young, even encouraging his son to go to the press with false allegations in order to force a financial settlement that he recommended,” claims King. “Dr. Sophy has consistently rebuffed Medical Board attempts to investigate these claims, but has now filed this desperate suit while the noose of the Medical Board is tightening.”

According to Dr. Sophy, Dre sent him an “overtly threatening” text around 10 PM on February 16, 2023, in which he claimed someone told him something “disturbing,” and that the doctor was “going to have to pay for that.” When Sophy questioned him, Dre allegedly responded, “Yes, you,” and “You’re a piece of s—t.”

Dr. Sophy says Dre “falsely accused” him of trying to turn an unidentified third party against him, and “wrongly accused” him of acting improperly during the divorce mediation.

“There is no truth behind these baseless and far-fetched accusations,” reads Dr. Sophy’s lawsuit. “Dr. Sophy tried to let the threats go and not pursue them. Young, however, would not let go.”

The lawsuit includes claims of civil harassment, threats of violence based on his sexual orientation, and seeks a court order prohibiting contact. Dr. Sophy is seeking compensatory damages of at least $10 million and punitive damages to be decided at trial.

Photo Credit: Tobias Tullius

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs accuses federal agents and prosecutors of leaking the hotel security camera footage showing him attacking Cassie Ventura.

Federal prosecutors deny leaking the hotel security camera footage that showed Sean “Diddy” Combs attacking then-girlfriend, singer Cassie Ventura, at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016. Combs accused them of leaking the footage unlawfully in a court filing this week.

The video was initially obtained by CNN back in May. Its existence forced Combs into acknowledging its legitimacy and releasing a public apology for his actions, which he had previously denied.

“The Government was not in possession of the video before its publication by CNN,” prosecutors assert in a letter to the judge. “Indeed, at the time of CNN’s publication, the Government did not possess any video of the March 2016 incident.”

Further, prosecutors said they informed the defense, prior to the filing on Wednesday that alleged leaks, that they did not obtain the video through the grand jury process, and they did not believe Homeland Security Investigations had accessed the video prior to CNN releasing it.

“There is thus no colorable factual basis for the defendant’s claim that the Government leaked the video to CNN, let alone that it was leaked ‘in violation of grand jury secrecy,’” wrote prosecutors.

Combs, who has been held without bail, was arrested last month and charged with sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution, and racketeering conspiracy.

Prior to his court appearance this week, Combs’ attorneys alleged that leaks “have led to damaging, highly prejudicial publicity that can only taint the jury pool and deprive Mr. Combs of his right to a fair trial.”

“Mr. Combs continues to assert his right to a speedy trial and intends to request a trial date in April or May 2025, and as consistent with the Court’s trial schedule,” wrote defense attorneys Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos in a letter to the judge before Combs’ court appearance on Thursday.

In addition to his federal trial, Combs is still facing several civil lawsuits from alleged victims, and has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Photo Credit: Beyoncé and Jay-Z at The O2 by hollaa01 / CC by 2.0

Lawyers for Jay-Z and Beyoncé asked for comments on Piers Morgan’s show implicating them in Diddy’s scandal to be removed — and Piers Morgan issues an apology.

Piers Morgan has issued a public apology to Beyoncé and Jay-Z not even a week after a guest on his “Uncensored” show made comments implicating the couple in the allegations against Sean “Diddy” Combs.

Singer Jaguar Wright mentioned Mr. and Mrs. Carter during an appearance on Morgan’s show on October 2, in which they discussed the mounting allegations against Combs. “I’ve been screaming not just about Diddy, but Diddy and Jay-Z are monsters,” said Wright, alleging that Jay-Z and wife Beyoncé have “hundreds of victims.”

On October 8, Morgan released a public apology sharing that the couple’s lawyers had reached out to clarify that Wright’s claims were “totally false and have no basis in fact.” Morgan said his show will comply with a “legal request” to edit the remarks about the Carters out of the episode.

“Editing interviews is not something we do lightly on a show called ‘Uncensored.’ But, like the proverbial cries of fire in a crowded theater, there are legal limits on us, too,” said Morgan. “And we apologize to Jay-Z and Beyoncé.”

An attorney for the Carters, Alex Spiro, who also represents indicted New York City lawyer Eric Adams, recently discussed Jaguar Wright’s alleged defamation with TMZ. According to Spiro, the “random rumor mill” not only causes harm to those defamed, but drowns out “the voices of real victims.” Spiro called the legal action against Piers Morgan and his show as an “ultimatum,” rather than cease and desist.

“Remove that false accusation, that is demonstrably false, or a court’s going to order you to. And so I think he made the wise choice and acted accordingly.”

Photo Credit: Garth Brooks by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Carlos M. Vazquez II / Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Washington, D.C. / CC by 2.0

Garth Brooks’ legal battle against a woman accusing him of sexual assault heats up as he publicly identifies her in a legal filing and angering her lawyers.

Country star Garth Brooks was accused of sexual assault and rape by a former makeup artist who filed a lawsuit against him last week in California, and the battle continues to escalate.

The complaint was filed anonymously by a woman identified only as Jane Roe and Jane Doe, who says she began working for Brooks’ wife, singer Trisha Yearwood, as a makeup artist and hairstylist in 2017. She later began working for Brooks, also as a makeup artist, when she encountered financial difficulties and he started offering her more work as he toured.

But in 2019, she claims Brooks started sexually harassing her, including showing up naked to his appointments with her in his home. These events continued escalating, she says, until Brooks raped her in a hotel room while on a trip to Los Angeles for a performance.

Brooks has denied the allegations and accuses her of attempting to extort him out of “millions of dollars,” while tarnishing his wholesome country image. Brooks also filed a lawsuit in September against his accuser in Mississippi court, the state in which she now lives, in an attempt to stop her from filing her own complaint against him. That lawsuit, which he filed anonymously, sought a judgment declaring the allegations untrue and to prohibit her from suing him in the first place.

But attempts to dissuade her failed, and her lawsuit broke the country singer’s anonymity. In retaliation, Brooks has amended his initial complaint to not only add his own name to it, but her name as well.

A separate filing, obtained by Whiskey Riff, shows Brooks claiming he is the victim of a shakedown, condemning the attorneys involved for publicly naming him before a court could determine whether the case could go forward with both parties remaining anonymous. That move has angered his accuser’s attorneys.

“Garth Brooks just revealed his true self. Out of spite and to punish, he publicly named a rape victim,” said attorneys for his accuser in a public statement. “With no legal justification, Brooks outed her because he thinks the laws don’t apply to him. On behalf of our client, we will be moving for maximum sanctions against him immediately,” they continue. “He is far from the victim of a shakedown, and in fact offered millions of dollars to keep this matter from becoming public.”

Brooks addressed the issue briefly during his Inside Studio G livestream on Monday, October 7, saying the whole thing could take two years to reach a conclusion.

“This thing is on. It’s gonna happen. And people are telling me it could be up to two years, so my suggestion is, we all take a deep breath, we all just kind of settle in, and let’s hold hands and take a trip together, okay?” He went on, “Because it is something that you cannot talk about. That’s all we can say about it.”

Photo Credit: NoWah Bartscher

A hotline for victims of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, encouraging them to come forward, has been flooded with over 12,000 calls in 24 hours.

Attorney Tony Buzbee publicized a hotline earlier this week for victims of Sean “Diddy” Combs and those who knew about his crimes. The number has been flooded with over 12,000 calls in the first 24 hours since Buzbee made it public — a massive influx from the approximately 3,200 they received in the hotline’s first 10 days.

“When I made the announcement that I was going to pursue these cases, the floodgates really opened,” said Buzbee in a statement to Law & Crime. “The volume of calls has been overwhelming, and it’s been kind of shocking.”

“So, our Herculean task is to try to sift through every one of these calls and make sure that we’re identifying those who are victims and those who are witnesses and collect evidence,” he continued, explaining that he has around “100 people working on this task,” and they expect to begin filing civil cases within 30 days.

The hotline received around 3,200 calls within 10 days of going live. But after Buzbee’s press conference last week, which made the number more well-known, they received a whopping 12,000 calls in only 24 hours.

The 54-year-old Combs was arrested in Manhattan last month following a federal probe into alleged sex trafficking crimes, which include accusations of drugging and raping victims. Buzbee has expressed that his team already has enough evidence to file 120 victims’ lawsuits against the rapper. Out of those victims, 25 have been identified as underage at the time of the abuse, with at least one as young as nine.

“This individual, who was nine years old at the time, was taken to an audition in New York City with Bad Boy Records,” Buzbee disclosed at the press conference. “This individual was sexually abused, allegedly by Sean Combs and several other people at the studio, in the promise to both his parents and to […] himself of getting a record deal.”

Buzbee explained claims are coming from victims who were seeking television or music careers and to whom promises were made allegedly to secure their stardom. Some claims are also coming from those who were invited to Diddy’s now-infamous parties.

“Any entities or other individuals that either were involved, participated, facilitated, egged it on, provided the venue, benefitted from it, profited from it, that sort of thing,” said Buzbee, telling Law & Crime he and his team are seeking “every potentially liable party” to include before filing additional claims.

Though Buzbee and his team were initially shocked by the sheer volume of calls, the attorney says they’re sifting through over 25 years of alleged behavior by Sean Combs. These have taken place at studios, album release parties, Combs’ well-known White Parties, his so-called “Freak Off” parties, and numerous other events.

“I have no doubt that there are people right now who know that they were somehow involved in this, who are now scrubbing their social media, who are searching their memories, who are deleting their texts, probably deleting pictures, and trying to distance themselves from this, and we know who they are, or we will find out who they are,” warned Buzbee. “This is not something that’s going to happen overnight, but I think we’re at the tip of the iceberg.”

Buzbee said there was a discernable “pattern of behavior” at Diddy’s parties, and it was an open secret throughout Hollywood. “We want to be very careful about who we name,” he said, explaining that some of the cases about to be filed include names that the public would find “shocking.”

Photo Credit: Library of Congress

Garth Brooks says the claims made in a recent sexual assault lawsuit from a makeup artist are an attempt at extortion.

The complaint was filed in California and alleges that the make-up artist Jane Roe “endured painful and traumatic rape and sexual assault at the hands of Brooks.” The lawsuit alleges the inappropriate behavior began in 2019 when Ms. Roe was at the Brooks home on a styling appointment. She says she looked up to find Brooks emerging from the shower naked with an erection. Roe alleges that he forced her to touch his erection while requesting she perform sex acts.

The lawsuit alleges another incident in 2019 that Ms. Roe was physically dominated and raped by Brooks while employed for an event. Following the rape, Ms. Roe alleges she was pressured by time to continue business as usual to style his hair and make-up for the event he was attending. Roe says she repeatedly warded off his sexual conduct but became subject to verbal and physically inappropriate attacks.

In response to the allegations laid forth in the lawsuit, Brooks says, “For the last two months, I have been hassled to no end with threats, lies, and tragic tales of what my future would be if I did not write a check for many millions of dollars. It has been like having a loaded gun waved in my face.”

Last month, Brooks filed a lawsuit against. Ms. Jane Roe in Mississippi, which his team calls an attempt to preempt her going public with the allegations. But Ms. Roe’s lawyers believe the preemptive complaint in Mississippi was timed to proceed anonymously after learning of her plan to file her complaint in California.

“We applaud our client’s courage in moving forward with her complaint against Garth Brooks,” reads a statement provided by Douglas H. Wigdor, Jeanne M. Christensen, and Haley Baker. “The complaint filed today demonstrated that sexual predators exist not only in corporate America, Hollywood, and in the rap and rock and roll industries, but also in the world of country music.”

“We are confident that Brooks will be held accountable for his actions and his efforts to silence our client through the filing of a pre-emptive complaint in Mississippi was nothing other than an act of desperation and attempted intimidation. We courage others who may have been victimized to contact us as no survivor should suffer in silence.”

Photo Credit: Garth Brooks by John Mathew Smith / CC by 2.0

Garth Brooks has been accused of sexual assault and battery in a new lawsuit from a former makeup artist who worked with the singer.

Country music star Garth Brooks has been sued by a woman who worked as a makeup artist and hairstylist for the singer and accuses Brooks of sexual assault and battery. The complaint, filed by Jane Roe in a California state court on Thursday, October 3, claims the assault occurred in 2019, when she says Brooks raped her on a work trip.

As first reported by CNN, an anonymous celebrity plaintiff, who has since been revealed to be Brooks, attempted to block Roe from publicly repeating her allegations against him and fiercely denied the claims.

Roe became the makeup and hairstylist for Brooks in 2017, according to her filing, which says she was first hired as the makeup and hairstylist for Brooks’ wife, singer Trisha Yearwood, in 1999. In addition to the sexual assault, the suit also accuses Brooks of repeatedly exposing himself to Roe, talking about sex and sharing sexual fantasies with her, regularly changing his clothes in front of her, and sending sexually explicit text messages.

The lawsuit recounts one alleged incident in 2019, when Roe was at Brooks’ home for work, and Brooks walked out of the shower naked. He “grabbed her hands and forced them” onto his genitals while he spoke to her with sexually explicit language. Another alleged incident in May 2019 describes Brooks raping Roe in a hotel room during a work trip to Los Angeles where the country singer was recording a Grammy tribute performance.

“Usually there were others on Brooks’ private jet, but this time, Ms. Roe and Brooks were the only two passengers,” the filing states. “Once in Los Angeles at the hotel, Ms. Roe could not believe that Brooks had booked a hotel suite with one bedroom and she did not have a separate room.”

Roe alleges Brooks “appeared in the doorway to the bedroom, completely naked,” and she says she felt “trapped in the room alone with Brooks.” Even after the alleged rape, Roe claims Brooks continued to tell her his sexual fantasies, now with more frequency, and physically groped her. Roe says Brooks made “repeated remarks” about “having a threesome” with his wife.

Brooks, who filed a prior complaint as John Doe, claims Roe’s attorney sent him a “confidential demand letter” alleging sexual misconduct after he declined her requests for “salaried employment and medical benefits.” Brooks’ lawsuit states, “Defendant’s allegations are not true, [and] defendant is well aware […] of the substantial, irreparable damage such false allegations would do to Plaintiff’s wel-earned reputation as a decent and caring person, along with the unavoidable damage to his family and the irreparable damage to his career and livelihood.”

In response, Roe’s attorneys told CNN, “[Brooks’] efforts to silence our cilent through the filing of a preemptive complaint in Mississippi was nothing other than an act of desperation and attempted intimidation.”

“We are confident that Brooks will be held accountable for his actions,” said attorneys Douglas H. Wigdor, Jeanne M. Christensen, and Hayley Baker. “We applaud our client’s courage in moving forward with her complaint against Garth Brooks. The complaint filed today demonstrates that sexual predators exist not only in corporate America, Hollywood, and in the rap and rock and roll industries, but also in the world of country music.”

Once he was revealed as the alleged perpetrator, Brooks said in a statement to CNN: “For the last two months, I have been hassled to no end with threats, lies, and tragic tales of what my future would be if I did not write a check for many millions of dollars.”

“Hush money, no matter how much or how little, is still hush money,” he added. “In my mind, that means I am admitting to behavior I am incapable of — ugly acts no human should ever do to another. […] We filed suit against this person nearly a month ago to speak out against extortion and defamation of character. We filed it anonymously for the sake of families on both sides.”

Photo Credit: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs by Richard Burdett

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs faces dozens of new sexual assault allegations in a series of lawsuits soon to be filed.

When it rains, it pours, and rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs doesn’t have an umbrella since his arrest last month. With charges of sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution, Combs is currently detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York.

But now, Texas-based attorney Tony Buzbee revealed at a news conference on Tuesday (October 1) that he is representing over 120 accusers with allegations against Combs that occurred over 20-plus years ago.

“We will expose the enablers who enabled this conduct behind closed doors. We will pursue this matter no matter who the evidence implicates,” said Buzbee. “Many powerful people, […] many dirty secrets,” he added, noting that his team has collected “pictures, video, texts,” that cover allegations including “violent sexual assault or rape, facilitated sex with a controlled substance, dissemination of video recordings, [and] sexual abuse of minors.”

“It’s a long list already, but because of the nature of this case, we are going to make sure — damn sure — we are right before we [file suit],” Buzbee continued. “These names will shock you.”

Buzbee said he’s had over 3,000 individuals come to him with accusations against Combs, and that he plans to begin filing lawsuits in various states within 30 days. The other defendants will be named at a later date.

Further, the attorney said the new group of accusers hail from over 25 different states, with the majority from New York, California, Georgia, and Florida. Buzbee also said 25 of the accusers were minors at the time of the alleged incidents, with some having occurred as early as 1991. One of the accusers, Buzbee claimed, was as young as nine years old at the time of the alleged incident.

Combs and his legal team continue to deny any and all allegations against him — except those he fessed up to involving his ex-girlfriend, singer Cassie Ventura, after video proof of the abuse he levied at her surfaced earlier this year and made his earlier denial moot.

“[Combs] cannot address every meritless allegation in what has become a reckless media circus,” his lawyer, Erica Wolff, said in a statement. “Mr. Combs emphatically and categorically denies as false and defamatory any claim that he sexual abused anyone, including minors,” Wolff continued. “He looks forward to proving his innocence and vindicating himself in court if and when claims are filed and served.”

Notably, many of the lawsuits against Combs have been filed in New York City, where the Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law allows people to file lawsuits alleging sexual abuse even when the statute of limitations has passed.

Photo Credit: Ye by Pieter-Jannick Dijkstra / CC by 2.0

The class action lawsuit against Adidas over the company’s partnership with Kanye West, despite his erratic behavior, has been dismissed with prejudice.

The investor class action litigation against Adidas over their alleged prior knowledge of Kanye West’s “erratic behavior” has been officially dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled. The lawsuit was initially dismissed back in August, citing insufficient evidence.

Filed by the HRSA-ILA Funds, the lawsuit asserted that Adidas failed to reveal to investors Kanye’s inappropriate behavior between 2013 and 2018 and their own internal apprehensions about working with him. But the court found insufficient evidence to show misleading statements that may have affected investors.

“Certainly, that [Kanye] allegedly engaged in such behavior while working with Adidas is troubling,” said Judge Karin J. Immergut at the time. “This Court does not condone what the Plaintiff allegedly did. But the question before this Court is not whether to admonish [Kanye] or hold Adidas accountable for his conduct.”

“Has [HRSA-ILA Funds] sufficiently pleaded facts showing that Adidas misled investors and thereby committed federal securities fraud? On the current record before this Court, the answer is no,” concluded Judge Immergut. “Based on the Court’s Opinion and Order granting Defendants Adidas AG’s […] Motions to Dismiss, it is ordered and adjudged that this action is dismissed with prejudice.”

Kanye West, who now goes by Ye, was bringing in over a billion dollars with his Adidas-Yeezy partnership by 2021, which accounted for 8% of Adidas’ revenue and over 40% of its profits. But beginning in 2013, investors alleged that the company was aware of the “troubling potential” of its partnership with the rapper.

Ye’s erratic behavior escalated with his antisemitic rants on social media in 2022, which led to Adidas cutting him loose despite the financial trepidation in doing so. Last year, the company’s revenue had dropped by $1.3 billion over the decision to sever ties with West.

Photo Credit: 50 Cent’s Instagram

Netflix is producing a docuseries from 50 Cent about the sexual assault allegations and federal trafficking and racketeering charges against Diddy.

Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson sold his docuseries about federal charges and sexual assault allegations against Sean “Diddy” Combs to Netflix to produce, with Alexandria Stapleton directing the project. The series is currently in production.

50 Cent executive produces the project through his G-Unit Film & Television banner, with Stapleton executive producing for House of Nonfiction. Fiddy first announced back in December that G-Unit would produce the series, shortly after Combs had been sued by four different women, including ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura.

When he first announced the project, 50 Cent shared a clip on the former Twitter showing Bad Boy Records rapper Mark Curry alleging that Combs would spike bottles of champagne at his parties before women drank from them.

Last week, Combs was arrested in New York and charged on counts of racketeering, sex trafficking, fraud, and transportation to engage in prostitution. He pleaded not guilty, but was denied bail at his appeal hearing and remains in custody.

“This is a story with significant human impact. It is a complex narrative spanning decades, not just the headlines or clips seen so far,” said 50 Cent and Stapleton in a statement to Variety.

“We remain steadfast in our commitment to give a voice to the voiceless and to present authentic and nuanced perspectives. While the allegations are disturbing, we urge all to remember that Sean Combs’ story is not the full story of hip-hop and its culture. We aim to ensure that individual actions do not overshadow the culture’s broader contributions.”

Proceeds from the documentary, 50 Cent said, will be used to support victims of sexual assault.

“I been telling y’all about all this weird shit,” said the rapper-producer on his Instagram with a picture of Variety’s story. “I don’t do NO Puffy Party’s [sic]. You didn’t believe me, but I bet you believe me now!”

Even as the lawsuits and allegations against him continue to stack up, Combs has denied any wrongdoing. The only thing he has admitted to thus far was his assault of Cassie Ventura when a leaked video showing an assault in a hotel hallway proved her account to be true. But he only took “full responsibility” for his actions after the video surfaced, having settled Ventura’s lawsuit against him just a day after it was filed.

Aside from Ventura’s lawsuit, Combs has been hit with countless others, including those from Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, Grace O’Marcaigh, Crystal McKinney, Dawn Richard, Joi Dickerson-Neal, Liza Gardner, April Lampros, Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith, multiple Jane Does, and most recently, Thalia Graves.

Photo Credit: Tingey Law

The latest lawsuit against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs comes from a woman who alleges he drugged and ‘viciously’ raped her in a recording studio in 2001.

Sean “Diddy” Combs has been sued by a woman who alleges he and his bodyguard “viciously” raped her in a New York City recording studio over 20 years ago after Combs had drugged her. The lawsuit, filed by Thalia Graves in federal court on Tuesday, also claims the men recorded the encounter on video, about which she only recently learned.

Graves is seeking a trial by jury in the lawsuit, which appears to be the first against Combs since his indictment last week by federal authorities in New York on charges including sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution. Graves’ lawsuit also names Combs’ former bodyguard and head of security, Joseph “Big Joe” Sherman, who denies raping or even knowing Graves, and claims he was not employed by Combs at the time.

According to the lawsuit, Graves met Combs around late 1999 or early 2000 through her boyfriend at the time, who was an executive at Combs’ Bad Boy Records, and had a close relationship with the rapper and producer. Graves says she frequently visited her boyfriend, who is curiously not identified in the complaint, at Combs’ Bad Boy studio in New York City, and attended events hosted at Combs’ properties.

In the summer of 2001, the suit claims Combs called the then-25-year-old Graves and asked her to meet with him to discuss her boyfriend’s “performance issues.” Combs picked her up in an SUV which Sherman was allegedly driving, where Graves was offered a glass of wine that she says later caused her to “feel lightheaded, dizzy, and physically weak.” They drove to the Bad Boy studio in Manhattan, and Graves says she found it difficult to walk upon exiting the vehicle. She says she was escorted to a couch in a private room in the studio, where she then lost consciousness.

When she came to, Graves says she was naked, with her hands tied behind her back with what felt like a plastic grocery bag. She shouted for help, after which Sherman lifted her from the couch and was said to have forcefully slammed her, face-down, on a pool table. Soon, Combs entered the room naked, the suit continues.

Graves says Combs applied lubricant to himself and then raped her, while she was “unable to move, totally overpowered physically, in addition to being drugged and bound.” She then lost consciousness again and awoke to Sherman slapping her in the face and sexually assaulting her. Graves then lost consciousness yet again.

According to the suit, when she finally awoke, she was alone on the couch, naked and terrified, and quickly got dressed and fled the studio. She says she called a livery driver she knew, who drove her to the hospital and tried to convince her to report the assault and get a rape kit. Graves said she was shaking and crying hysterically, and was unable to leave the vehicle, “terrified of what Combs would do to her and her family if she reported him.”

Last November, when the first lawsuit against Combs surfaced, filed by his ex-girlfriend and R&B singer Cassie Ventura, Graves says her former boyfriend revealed to her that, years earlier, Combs and Sherman showed him “and a group of men — some of whom were also employed by Combs’ companies” the video of her being raped.

Graves also alleges both Combs and Sherman to have contacted her in the years since the assault, warning her to stay silent and threatening her with repercussions if she did not, including that she could lose custody of her son.

“Plaintiff lives in constant fear,” the suit explains. “She struggles with hyper-vigilance and experiences anxiety and panic attacks in social settings, preferring to be alone. Her need to hide to feel safe has strained her relationships with friends and family.”

Sherman denies the allegations in Graves’ suit, saying he was employed by Combs from 1998 to 1999, and was not associated with Combs by the time the alleged assault would have taken place.

Photo Credit: Macklemore by Amanda Rhoades / San Francisco Foghorn / CC by 2.0

Less than a week after he was announced as a headliner at the debut Neon City Festival in Las Vegas, Macklemore has disappeared from the lineup following his ‘f—k America’ remark.

After being announced as a headliner at the inaugural Neon City Festival in Las Vegas just last week, rapper Macklemore is now absent from the lineup “due to unforeseen circumstances” coinciding with his recent anti-America comment.

The music festival opted not to disclose a specific reason as to the “Thrift Shop” singer’s sudden absence. But the change comes a few days after Macklemore’s “f—k America” remark while on stage performing at a pro-Palestinian benefit concert, Palestine Will Live Forever, in Seattle. Neon City Festival’s headliners were announced on September 19; Macklemore made headlines on September 21 for his comments at the benefit concert. By September 24, he was dropped from the Las Vegas festival’s roster.

Today (September 25), Macklemore released a statement on his social channels. “My thoughts and feelings are not always expressed perfectly or politely,” he began. “Sometimes I slip up and get caught in the moment. Saturday night was one of those times.”

“Unfortunately, the historic event in my hometown that brought thousands of people together to raise awareness and money for the people of Palestine has become overshadowed by two words,” he continued in part, explaining his frustration and disappointment in the United States in the face of ongoing violence in the Middle East.”

“But do not misconstrue the word ‘f—k’ for the word ‘hate.’ It’s different to be angry than to disown,” Macklemore’s statement went on. “I’ve lost endorsements, I’ve lost business ties. I am still here, unwavering in my support for a Free Palestine.”

The musician has been outspoken in his support of Palestine amid the war between Hamas and Israel. His signature was among those on an open letter calling for a ceasefire, and he released a protest song in May, “Hind’s Hall,” in support of the student protestors on college campuses. Proceeds from the song have gone toward the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

The inaugural Neon City Festival takes place in downtown Las Vegas from November 22 through the 24. Headliners now include Seven Lions, Alison Wonderland, Russell Dickerson, and Neon Trees.

Photo Credit: Blacktree TV YouTube (Kim Porter)

Singer-songwriter and producer Al B. Sure! has called for an investigation into the 2018 death of Diddy’s former partner, Kim Porter.

The producer made the claims on Instagram, stating he believes her death may have been arranged because of the knowledge she had of Diddy’s criminal enterprise. “In a nutshell, Kimberly was allegedly taken from us because she was set on a course to accomplish what Mrs. Cassie Ventura did by igniting the bonfire which brings us here today,” the R&B singer writes.

“I am writing this post to formally request an investigation into an entire group of individuals who worked at or around the residence of Ms. Kimberly Porter, including the publicists who assisted drafting this,” the post begins. “It has come to my attention that these persons were also instructed to steal her computer and mobile devices, which contained her original book notes. Original notes are distinct from the fabricated bullshit and offensive pages circulated via Amazon which depict graphic sexual acts involving me that NEVER took place and were edited and added after Ms. Porter’s tragic murder.”

“I urge you to consider who authorized such a fictitious publication without categorizing it as ‘Calculated Fiction.’ The publicists and conspirators worked in concert, from separate camps launching this campaign which appears to be a very personal and deliberate distraction from their involvement in covering horrific crimes, assisted in, and perplexed the public for many years, which I have personally experienced and cautiously deemed just a ‘medical crisis’ for legal reasons until the rest of these atrocities were uncovered by authorities making it more believable to a gullible public that has been fooled for so long,” he continues.

“Ms. Porter’s missing devices, allegedly already in evidence unquestionably contain the critical evidence that have been concealed. I’m convinced that evidence corroborates closely with details outlined in the recently released public indictment document,” he continues. “Additionally, it is pertinent to note that the individuals involved in this matter may also be connected to also concealing the alleged murders of several prominent artists, a situation that has left many bewildered, yet those who are immersed in the culture and familiar with the intricacies of the entertainment industry may have a clearer understanding of the obvious.”

His references to the stolen devices and original notes are about Porter’s memoir. Kim Porter was found dead in her home in Toluca Lake, California in 2018. She reportedly had days of flu-like symptoms and the coroner initially listed her cause of death as ‘deferred’ but later changed it to lobar pneumonia. Porter dated Diddy throughout 2017 and was the mother of three of his children.

Photo Credit: Jesús Rocha

The musician indicted by the US government for his alleged role in the $10 million streaming fraud scam pleads not guilty as the case kicks off.

Michael Smith, the 52-year-old North Carolina musician who is being charged with three felony counts in connection with a $10 million streaming fraud scam, entered a plea of ‘not guilty’ during a brief proceeding. As initially reported by Law 360, US District Judge John Koeltl issued an order in Manhattan setting Smith’s bail at $500,000 as the case moves forward.

Earlier this month, the US government indicted Smith for his alleged role in the “scheme to create hundreds of thousands of songs with artificial intelligence and use automated programs called ‘bots’ to stream the AI-generated songs billions of times.”

The recently unsealed indictment alleged Smith went through a number of steps and processes to artificially boost streams, including fake email accounts and cloud service accounts, as well as paying for family plans on various streaming platforms. Smith estimated at one point he could use bots to generate around 661,440 streams per day, generating annual royalties of about $1,207,128.

Spotify issued a statement just last week, going on record to say that its platform only accounted for less than 1% of the money generated in the streaming fraud scheme. The company said it “invests heavily in automated and manual reviews to prevent, detect, and mitigate the impact of artificial streaming” on its platform.

“It appears our preventative measures worked and limited the royalties Smith was able to generate from Spotify to approximately $60,000 of the $10 million noted in the indictment,” said Spotify. “As [Spotify] typically accounts for around 50% of streamshare, this shows how effective we are at limiting the impact of artificial streaming on our platform.”

According to the indictment, one unnamed streaming service was able to detect the alleged fraudulent activity, cutting Smith off from royalty payments as early as 2019. Though the indictment referred to that service as only “Streaming Platform-1,” news outlets have since identified the platform to be Spotify.

Meanwhile, the Mechanical Licensing Collective also identified issues with Smith’s streaming data and withheld the royalty payments associated with them. The timing was apt; the MLC had recently announced a collaboration with music streaming fraud detection platform Beatdapp to enhance the collective’s existing fraud detection capabilities.

Beatdapp, who also began a partnership with Universal Music Group in January, said earlier this summer that streaming fraud accounts for around $2 billion lost royalties for artists each year.

Photo Credit: Federal Bureau of Prisons

Hip hop mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has pleaded not guilty to the bombshell charges in a federal indictment that dropped yesterday. Now a judge has denied the music mogul bail and he will await his trial in the notorious Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

The federal indictment alleges that Diddy, “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct” for decades. His September 16 arrest includes three felony counts of racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution.

Diddy’s attorney Marc Agninfilo released a statement after the arrest saying, “We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust proseceution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children, and working to uplift the Black community.”

“He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal. To his credit Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”

After a federal judge denied him bail, Diddy spent the night at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn late Tuesday night. Diddy will be held there ahead of his scheduled Manhattan federal court hearing for Wednesday afternoon—where he will appeal the decision to keep him behind bars. Dismal living conditions, inmate attacks, and worm and maggot-infested food are just some of the complaints about the MDC.

MDC inmates regularly complain about rats running around, while inmates endured freezing temperatures during a power outage in 2019. The MDC is where Ghislaine Maxwell was held during her sex-trafficking trial in connection with Jeffrey Epstein.

Photo Credit: NBC News

Following the arrest of music mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs last night in Manhattan, federal prosecutors have unsealed the indictment. Diddy is charged with three felony counts of racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution.

The unsealed indictment lays out the charges against the music mogul, alleging that he “threatened and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires” for years. Federal prosecutors argue that Combs created a “criminal enterprise whose members and associates engaged in” various crimes including “sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice.”

At the center of the indictment are parties that Diddy called ‘freak offs’ where he recorded victims engaging in forced sex acts. Prosecutors allege Diddy used force to “cause victims to engage in extended sex acts with male commercial sex workers that Combs arranged, directed, masturbated during, and often electronically recorded.”

Victims were often plied with illegal drugs to control them for long stretches of time, with participants often needing “IV fluids to recover from the physical exertion.” Prosecutors also allege that Diddy used the electronic recordings of these ‘freak offs’ as “collateral to ensure the continued obedience and silence of the victims.”

Court documents reveal that the U.S. Government is seeking to recover significant financial assets from Diddy, and that he could be on the hook for “any and all property, real and personal” and an undetermined “sum of money” involved in these alleged crimes. The indictment does not specifically list any assets that may be targeted.

The indictment also alleges that Diddy used his commercial enterprise as a key component of his criminal enterprise. Prosecutors allege that several of his employees were “to carry out, facilitate, and cover up his abuse and commercial sex.”

“Those employees — including security staff, household staff, personal assistants, and high-ranking supervisors — and other close associates acted as Combs’ intermediaries, and their conduct was facilitated and assisted by Combs’ control of the Combs business,” prosecutors allege. The documents also allege that federal agents seized 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant during the raid on his Miami and Los Angeles homes.

The indictment against Diddy includes alleged criminal acts going back 16 years. The racketeering count covers acts allegedly committed by the defendant beginning in 2008, while the sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution charges started in 2009. “On numerous occasions,” Combs would assault women by “among other things, striking, punching, dragging, throwing objects at and kicking them” the indictment reads.

In May 2024, Diddy apologized for his violent behavior after a leaked hotel video showed him dragging his then girlfriend Cassie Ventura down the hallway after brutally and viciously beating her for trying to flee in an elevator.

Shortly after the indictment was unsealed, Diddy pleaded not guilty to all charges in a New York courtroom. The rap star was handcuffed at the time, and it remains unclear if Diddy will spend time in jail or be allowed to post bond or live under monitored house arrest.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams (pictured) has said the investigation into Diddy’s conduct is not done. “A year ago, Sean Combs stood in Times Square and was handed a key to New York City,” Williams told reporters. “Today, he’s been indicted and will face justice in the Southern District of New York. We are not done. This investigation is ongoing, and I encourage anyone with information about this case to come forward and do it quickly.”

Photo Credit: Bermix Studio

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has been arrested in Manhattan by federal authorities following a grand jury indictment.

Sean “Diddy” Combs, whose music and entrepreneurial career has been disgraced by mounting sexual assault lawsuits and a federal investigation, has been arrested in Manhattan this evening (September 16), following a grand jury indictment earlier today.

A person familiar with the matter but who was not authorized to speak publicly has confirmed the indictment, which is sealed while the charges have remained undisclosed. The same person told The New York Times they believed Combs was charged with racketeering and sex trafficking.

Combs’ legal team released a statement that they were disappointed with the decision to prosecute him, noting he had been cooperative with the investigation and had “voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges.”

Representatives for the US Attorney’s Office in New York did not respond immediately to media requests for comment. An unidentified source told media outlets that Combs was taken to the FBI Field Office in Manhattan.

The arrest and preceding indictment follow the federal raids on Combs’ homes in Beverly Hills and Miami. A grand jury has been hearing testimony from various accusers and other parties over the last few months.

“We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the US Attorney’s Office,” Diddy’s attorney, Marc Agnifilo, said in a statement. “Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is a music icon […] who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children, and working to uplift the Black community. […] He is an imperfect person but is not criminal.”

Agnifilo concludes Combs has “nothing to hide,” and “looks forward to clearing his name in court.”

Combs has been a well-known figure in hip-hop since the 1990s and early 2000s, helping in the rise of rappers and R&B singers like Notorious B.I.G. and Mary J. Blige. He has been under increasingly intense public scrutiny since his former girlfriend, singer Cassie Ventura, filed a lawsuit against him last year accusing him of sexual and physical abuse.

Since then, Combs has been hit with numerous lawsuit accusing him of similar offenses, which culminated with a federal investigation that has been ongoing for months.

Photo Credit: Dawn Richard with Danity Kane by Jay1095 / CC by 4.0

A former bandmate of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs accuses him of sexual abuse in a new lawsuit that also recounts his abuse of Cassie Ventura.

The latest in the seemingly unending stream of sexual abuse lawsuits filed against disgraced producer and business mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs comes from Dawn Richard, a member of Combs’ Danity Kane and Dirty Money musical groups.

Richard’s lawsuit accuses Combs of sexually abusing and terrorizing her, but also claims she witnessed him beating his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura.

According to the lawsuit, shared with Digital Music News on Wednesday (September 11th), Combs’ “persistent abuse” of Cassie included “choking and strangling,” as well as “striking her with his hands and with objects, slapping her, punching her, and throwing items at her, including a scalding hot pan.”

“On many occasions, Ms. Richard tried to intervene, offering Ms. Ventura support and encouragement to leave Mr. Combs,” the lawsuit reads. “Each time, Mr. Combs learned of her efforts to help Ms. Ventura and became enraged, threatening Ms. Richard’s life with statements such as, ‘you want to die today,’ ‘I make n—— go missing,’ and ‘I end people.’”

Further, Dawn Richard accuses Diddy of withholding her earnings, stealing her copyrighted works, and subjecting her to “years of inhumane working conditions which included groping, assault, and false imprisonment.”

Specifically, the lawsuit cites work Richard did with Combs on MTV’s Making the Band 3 and 4, in which Combs allegedly “deprived Ms. Richard and her Danity Kane bandmates of basic needs such as adequate food and sleep.”

“When Ms. Richard or her Danity Kane bandmates requested meals or rest, Mr. Combs refused and chastised them with derogatory comments like, ‘you bitches don’t want this,’ or ‘y’all are not hungry enough,’ and ‘I’m paying you bitches to work.’”

Richard’s lawsuit also recounts an incident in 2005 in which she says she saw another of Combs’ former girlfriends, Kim Porter, crying as she left the studio with her face banged up. This, she says, was when she first realized Diddy was capable of violence. It was a year later that she was present when Combs met Cassie Ventura.

“Coincidentally, this first meeting between Mr. Combs and Ms. Ventura was the first time that Ms. Richard was in Mr. Combs’ presence without a camera crew filming. Observing Mr. Combs behave in such an intimidating, predatory manner the first time that they were off camera made Ms. Richard feel deeply apprehensive and afraid of him.”

So far, Combs and his attorneys have not responded to media requests for comment on the latest allegations against him.

Photo Credit: Sag Harbor Police Department

Justin Timberlake pleads guilty to a traffic violation in a plea deal that sees him cleared of drunk driving charges or even a criminal offense.

Justin Timberlake has secured a plea deal in his drunk driving case that sees him admit to a simple traffic violation, clearing him of drunk driving charges or even a criminal offense. The DWI charge against him is officially dropped, and Timberlake will admit to Driving While Ability Impaired, according to sources close to the matter.

Interestingly, although the word “impaired” is used in the charge, it is not the same as a drunk driving offense. Sources told TMZ that Justin will pay a $300 to $500 fine, the exact amount of which will be determined by the judge during a hearing on Friday.

The musician will still have his driver’s license suspended in New York — standard procedure because Timberlake refused to submit to a breathalyzer test when he was pulled over in Sag Harbor back in June. New York State law determines that refusal to take a breathalyzer test triggers an automatic one-year license suspension.

Timberlake was arrested on June 18 when cops say he ran a stop sign and failed to stay on the correct side of the road. At the time, he was charged with DWI but twice pled not guilty. Though his lawyer maintains he was not intoxicated when he was arrested, police say Timberlake failed field sobriety tests. The singer claims he drank one martini.

Even though the police secured body cam footage of the traffic stop, presumably prosecutors felt taking the case to trial would be too risky and opted for the lesser charge. Timberlake even cracked jokes about the incident while on tour, apparently unconcerned that the charges against him might stick. Now he’s free to enjoy the rest of his World Tour—which isn’t ending as predicted.

Photo Credit: Tingey Law

Diddy’s attorneys move to dismiss ex-producer Lil Rod’s $30 million sexual assault lawsuit, citing ‘legally meaningless allegations and blatant falsehoods.’

Sean “Diddy” Combs should seemingly try to lie low amid the federal investigation after his Los Angeles and Miami homes were raided by Homeland Security investigators earlier this year. But instead, the disgraced rapper and producer’s attorneys have moved to have his former producer Lil Rod’s $30 million sexual assault and trafficking lawsuit dismissed, calling the producer’s complaint an “attempt to dress up a run of the mill commercial disagreement as a salacious RICO conspiracy.”

Rodney Jones Jr., better known as producer Lil Rod, with whom Diddy worked on his most recent release, The Love Album, initially filed his lawsuit in February. “It includes countless tall tales, shameless celebrity namedrops, and irrelevant images,” Combs’ lawyers write. “Despite all its hyperbole and lurid theatrics, [the complaint] fails to state a single viable claim against any of the Combs Defendants.”

“Replete with legally meaningless allegations and blatant falsehoods, the [lawsuit’s] true purpose is to generate media hype and exploit it to extract a settlement — no surprise, given that Jones’ attorney was recently referred to this Court’s Grievance Committee for engaging in a ‘pattern’ of ‘improperly fil[ing] cases in federal court to garner media attention, embarrass defendants with salacious allegations, and pressure defendants to settle quickly,” Combs’ attorneys assert.

But Jones’ lawyer, the Brooklyn-based Tyrone Blackburn, isn’t the least bit concerned about Combs’ attempts to have the lawsuit dismissed, calling it a ruse. “This is nothing more than a billing exercise by Sean Combs’ latest set of lawyers,” Blackburn told Deadline. “It is a weak attempt to fill their pockets before he is indicted, and they decide to haul ass, just like his five previous lawyers did.”

Blackburn added that “if their client does not engage in salacious behavior, I would not have anything salacious to file. I pick my clients; I do not pick their facts.”

The Department of Justice has until September 9 to respond to the motion to dismiss. Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security has yet to divulge more information about the federal investigation involving Combs, but explained back in March that Homeland Security Investigations New York was working with assistance from HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami, and local law enforcement.

Photo Credit: X/Twitter Kim Dotcom

After a 12-year fight with the U.S. government, alleged piracy facilitator Kim Dotcom will be extradited to the United States from New Zealand.

The New Zealand Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith confirmed the news, saying he signed an extradition order for Dotcom this week. “I considered all of the information carefully, and I have decided that Mr. Dotcom should be surrendered to the U.S. to face trial,” Goldsmith says in his statement.

“As is common practice, I have allowed Mr. Dotcom a short period of time to consider and take advice on my decision. I will therefore, not be commenting further at this stage.” Speaking on social media about the extradition, Kim Dotcom said: “the obedient U.S. colony in the South Pacific just decided to extradite me for what users uploaded to Megaupload.”

On April 10, 2014, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filed a civil lawsuit against Megaupload.com and its main operators for “engaging in massive copyright infringement of sound recordings.” Named in that lawsuit are Megaupload Founder Kim Dotcom, Chief Technical Operator and Co-Founder Mathias Ortmann, majority shareholder Vestor Limited, and Head Programmer and Uploader Rewards Program Manager Bram van der Kolk.

That lawsuit alleges that each of these people willfilly engaged in and actively encouraged massive copyright infringement from its users. A DOJ indictment alleges that the defendants generated more than $175 million in illicit profits, while causing $500 million to harm for copyright owners of music, movies, books, games, television shows, and other media.

“Megaupload played an active role in ensuring that it had the most popular content on its servers, that the URL links to those infringing content files were widely disseminated on the internet, and that the links were advertised and promoted by pirate linking sites, so that a maximum number of users would access the infringing content,” the lawsuit reads.

“It further exercised active control over the process of providing that content by regulating the volume and speed of transmissions to users who had not yet purchased ‘premium’ subscriptions,” the lawsuit continues. “Megaupload made money in two ways—through premium subscriptions and online advertising.”

“In exchange for payment, premium users would receive faster access to infringing files, including Plaintiff’s copyrighted works hosted on Defendants’ computer servers.”

Megaupload shut down in January 2012, with the RIAA stating the impact on reducing piracy among internet users was “profoundly positive.” The RIAA says that according to a comparison of Q4 2011 and Q4 2012 (after shutdown), 50% of Megaupload users were no longer using any unauthorized music sites. The same dynamic was noticed after the shut down of Limewire—but even to 2024 the fight against digital lockers like Megaupload continues.

As recently as July 2024 major labels are suing Verizon for the alleged ‘pervasive’ copyright infringement of its internet subscribers, focusing on P2P file-sharing networks and BitTorrent itself.

Photo Credit: Joe Scarnici / Getty Images for Delta LA2028 Sponsorship

After a report accusing talent mogul Casey Wasserman of multiple extramarital affairs, Billie Eilish has reportedly dropped him. Here’s the latest.

A report published two weeks ago claims to have eleven sources that have accused the talent mogul of being a serial cheater. It suggests Wasserman ‘love bombed’ women with expensive gifts before dropping them after the conquest. Wasserman is the Chairman of the LA 2028 Olympic committee. These sources claim Wasserman began cheating on his wife with his assistant five years into his marriage in 2006 and is accused of a string of other romantic relationships with employees.

The Wasserman CEO served as live booking representation for Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas—though Eilish dropped Wasserman after the allegations. According to TheWrap, Eilish felt “very upset” about the allegations and prepared to part ways in the last two weeks before dropping the news on Tuesday. Billie Eilish sang alongside The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Snoop Dogg for the Olympics closing ceremony on Sunday.

“While grateful to their former live booking agents at Wasserman, Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell have opted to have film, TV, and music handled by the same agency, WME, moving forward,” a spokesperson for Eilish told TheWrap in comment on the situation. Wasserman Music acquired Paradigm Talent Agency’s North American live music representation business in 2021, bringing Eilish into the Wasserman fold.

Representatives for Casey Wasserman have not commented on Eilish’s departure or any of the allegations made in the Daily Mail report released on August 1. All of the eleven women cited in the report have remained anonymous due to “fear of social or legal consequences for speaking out about [Wasserman’s] infidelity.”

Other artists on the Wasserman Music roster include Kenny Chesney, Coldplay, Imagine Dragons, The Lumineers, Dave Matthews Band, Janelle Monáe, Kacey Musgraves, Old Dominion, Phish, Ed Sheeran, Lorde, Sturgill Simpson, Black Pumas, Brandi Carlile, Tyler Childers, Kaytranada, Normani, Run the Jewls, Tash Sultana, Diplo, DJ Snake, Flume, Jack Harlow, ODESZA, and Skrillex.

Photo Credit: Suga for Marie Claire Korea / CC by 3.0

BTS’ Suga is facing possible prison time over his drunk driving scooter incident in Seoul last week.

Suga, best known as a member of the K-pop supergroup BTS, is facing potential prison time or a hefty fine for falling off an e-scooter while under the influence of alcohol last week in Seoul.

The breathalyzer test conducted the day of the incident revealed his blood-alcohol level was significantly higher than the legal limit when he was found lying on the ground in Seoul’s Yongsan district on August 6 after an apparent accident.

BTS is currently on a break from music while its members perform their compulsory national military service. The group’s label, Big Hit Music, initially claimed Suga had been riding an electric kickboard — which can reach maximum speeds of around 15mph — at the time of his accident. But it emerged later that he had been riding an e-scooter, with a maximum speed of closer to 20mph.

In an apology posted to the former Twitter, Suga claimed he had been fined and his driver’s license revoked. Under South Korean law, drivers with a blood-alcohol level of 0.2% or higher can receive a fine of around $7,500 or a prison sentence of two to five years.

The penalties for driving an e-scooter under the influence are the same as similar offenses while driving a car. Suga’s blood-alcohol level was revealed to be around 0.227%.

Suga reportedly told police he had consumed only a single glass of beer before the accident, but his blood-alcohol level has been described as “impossibly high” for just a single glass of beer.

BTS is expected to reunite next year after all seven members have completed their military service. Suga is not expected to be made to leave the group over the incident, but Korean culture critics say the band will “struggle to rebuild public trust.” Suga’s case is still under investigation by Korean police.

Photo Credit: German Comic Con / CC by 3.0

Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter launches a $2.5 million countersuit against his longtime sexual assault accuser Melissa Schuman.

Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter has filed a countersuit against his longtime sexual assault accuser, Melissa Schuman, alleging emotional distress and saying she cost him work. He claims her version of events never occurred and asks for $2.5 million in damages.

Melissa Schuman is only one of the women who has accused Nick Carter of sexual assault. She filed a lawsuit against Carter in California over an alleged sexual assault at an apartment in 2003. Another woman, Shannon Ruth, sued Carter in Nevada over an alleged assault on a tour bus in 2001.

Nick then filed a lawsuit in Las Vegas court against Shannon, Melissa, and Melissa’s father, accusing Melissa and her father of coaching Shannon into making false allegations against him to extort a large settlement. Carter also denied all allegations against him, insisting any sex between them was consensual. He asked for $2 million in damages in that lawsuit.

Though the lawsuits filed in Nevada are still pending, a judge is denying Carter’s request to put the Los Angeles lawsuit on hold until the Las Vegas case is settled. Now, Carter is filing his countersuit against Melissa in Los Angeles.

In his countersuit, Carter claims he and Melissa had consensual sex after meeting on the set of a television movie they were filming in 2003. She was a member of the pop girl group Dream, which was active from 1998 to 2003. Carter says she “struggled over the years to stay relevant.”

He says that in 2017, Melissa accused him in a blog post of publicly raping her on the night in question in 2003. Further, Carter asserts that Melissa and her father “recruited and groomed third parties to defame him.”

According to Carter’s filing, Melissa’s appearances on Dr. Oz’s show, as well as interviews and appearances like the 2024 documentary, “Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaron Carter,” were designed to “falsely claim” that he had sexually assaulted her.

These allegations cost him a $350,000 deal with MeUndies, a $1 million deal with Vrbo, an endorsement deal with Roblox, a brand partnership with The Children’s Place worth $125,000, and an endorsement with children’s brand Tonies, Carter asserts.

Carter’s lawyer writes, “After hearing [Melissa’s] defamatory statements, the foregoing companies, including others, terminated their contracts and business relationships with [Nick], costing [him] millions.”

The lawsuit ultimately demands $2.5 million in damages, punitive damages, and attorney fees. He also claims to be suffering from PTSD due to the “false” allegations against him.

Currently, Nick Carter is finishing up a European summer tour in Spain.

Photo Credit: Jared Kofsky / ABC News

The notary whose signature was faked in the Graceland foreclosure attempt speaks out about the scandal — ‘My life was uprooted.’

Kimberly Philbrick, the notary whose signature was faked — and poorly, she adds — has spoken out about the Graceland foreclosure attempt that uprooted her life. Philbrick found herself in the news when a business entity calling itself Naussany Investments and Private Lending attempted to foreclose on Elvis Presley’s home of Graceland.

A judge put a stop to the process back in May that could otherwise have seen the tourist attraction put up for auction. In court documents, Naussany claimed Lisa Marie Presley took out a $3.8 million loan before her death, using the Memphis landmark as collateral. Lisa Marie, Elvis’ only child and the heir to his legacy, had passed away only 16 months prior.

Philbrick, the notary public whose signature was alleged to have notarized a loan document, also said to be signed by Lisa Marie in her presence, swore she had never seen the documents nor met Presley.

“Where did they get my name? That’s the million dollar question,” Philbrick told ABC News. “I don’t know where they got it. I wish I knew where they got it.”

A former car dealership employee, Kimberly Philbrick also worked in a county office that registered auto-ownership papers. But she asserts she’d never even been to Jacksonville, Florida, where the notarization allegedly took place; she works 90 miles away in Daytona Beach.

“My life was uprooted,” she continued. “My identity was stolen, too. That’s what a lot of people seem to forget.”

Further, Philbrick says she would definitely have remembered if she had notarized anything for Lisa Marie Presley. “I know for a fact I didn’t notarize anything for her — I would have remembered it.”

Philbrick thought it was a joke at first when an investigator asked her if she knew Lisa Marie Presley, but quickly realized the connection was no laughing matter. She signed an affidavit swearing she had never met Presley and had not notarized anything for her.

“It looks absolutely nothing like my signature,” she explained. “It’s like they didn’t even attempt to make it look good. Everything was fraudulent. Everything was fabricated.”

That affidavit was integral to the court’s decision to issue a temporary injunction that stalled the auction, before a halt to the process could be issued altogether. Philbrick didn’t appear in court, but her written statement on the affidavit raised “serious questions regarding the authenticity of the signature on the deed of trust,” according to Shelby County Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins.

Though Philbrick has never been to Graceland, she says she plans to visit someday. “I still have to pay $82 to get in, but I saved Graceland,” she said.

The investigation into Naussany Investments has been turned over to federal authorities. A grand jury is now investigating the matter to determine whether wire or mail fraud was committed. Philbrick says she plans to testify at the grand jury after being served with a subpoena.

Photo Credit: Kim Beom-su for Acrofan / CC by 3.0

Kakao founder Kim Beom-su has been indicted by the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office on allegations of stock manipulation.

Kim Beom-su now faces a court trial after being indicted on allegations of stock manipulation related to his company Kakao’s acquisition of K-pop agency SM Entertainment. The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office alleges that he and other Kakao executives artificially injected 240 billion Korean won ($174.4 million) to inflate SM Entertainment’s stock prices between February 16 and 17, and February 27 and 28, in 2023. This, they say, was done in collusion with private equity fund OneAsia Partners, to block BTS agency Hybe from purchasing the stocks.

The executives are accused of interfering with the stock market on 553 occasions over the span of four days. Further, Kim allegedly refrained from reporting stock purchases to financial regulators; a company is obligated to make a regulatory report if it owns over five percent of another firm, and Kakao held an 8.16% stake in SM Entertainment during that period.

Kim Beom-su was arrested on July 23, while former Kakao CEO Hong Eun-taek and former Kakao Entertainment CEO Kim Sung-soo were indicted, but not arrested, on the same day. Initially, prosecutors had only tied Kim Beom-su to the manipulation said to have taken place on February 28 — but upon further investigation, authorities believe Kim was involved for the entirety.

At trial, prosecutors will need to prove that Kakao intentionally meddled with SM Entertainment’s shares with the purpose of obstructing Hybe’s attempts at acquisition. “We have secured sufficient material and testimonial evidence that Kim violated the relevant clause and plan to present them at the trial,” prosecutors told JoongAng.

The clause in question, Clause 3, Article 176 of the Capital Markets Act, states: “No one shall engage in making purchases or sales in connection with listed securities or exchange-traded derivatives or shall entrust or be entrusted with such act, with intent to fix or stabilize the market price of the listed securities or exchange-traded derivatives.”

While prosecutors sound confident in their burden of proof, Kakao’s attorneys maintain that Kim did not instruct or condone any “illegalities” involving the acquisition. The company released a statement that it would “diligently vindicate the facts during court trial,” and do its best to “minimize [Kim’s] management vacancy” with CEO Chung Shin-a serving as head of Kakao’s Corporate Alignment Council.

Photo Credit: Allkpop

BTS member Suga is in hot water over a drunk driving charge, joining Justin Timberlake in the ‘bad decisions made at night’ club. Suga also had his licensed revoked. Here’s the latest.

On August 7, Yongsan Police Station in Seoul said that Min Yoon-gi (Suga) was booked for violating the Road Traffic Act due to drunk driving. The k-pop star was found by a police officer who says the star fell to the ground after riding an electric scooter while intoxicated in the Hannam-dong area of Yongsan District. A police officer patrolling near the Presidential Office noticed Suga lying on the ground. He helped him up and detected the smell of alcohol on his breath, issuing a breathalyzer on the spot. Suga failed the breathalyzer, so he was booked.

Big Hit Music and Suga have acknowledged the incident, with Suga stating, “After drinking at dinner last night, I rode an electric kickboard home. I naively thought it was a short distance, not realizing that operating an electric kickboard while under the influence was illegal. Fortunately, no one was harmed, and no property was damaged.”

“Suga was wearing a helmet while riding an electric kickboard home,” Big Hit Music said in its statement about the incident. “He fell after traveling about 500 meters while trying to park. Fortunately, there were no injuries or property damage caused by this incident.”

While both Suga and Big Hit Music call the vehicle in question an ‘electric kickboard’ it’s worth noting that police classified the vehicle as a scooter. An electric kickboard is a vehicle without a seat—which the vehicle Suga was driving did have. The vehicle is treated the same as gasoline-powered scooters under the law, requiring a more rigorous investigation into the incident.

Suga took to Weverse to issue an apology for his behavior. “I come to you with a very heavy heart and deep apologies for disappointing you with this regrettable incident. I thought complacently that it was a short distance, not realizing I was not allowed to ride the electric scooter while intoxicated, breaking the Road Traffic Act.”

Both the US and South Korea have strict laws against drunk driving motorized vehicles—no matter if the vehicle is a car or not. You’d think pop stars like Suga and Justin Timberlake could whip out their phones and summon an Uber for a few bucks and no civil trouble, but drunk folks aren’t exactly known for being forward thinkers. Even if you’re too plastered to summon a ride yourself, usually you can talk to the bartender and they’ll get you a taxi. There’s absolutely no reason to drive drunk—no matter how short the distance.

Photo Credit: Hamptons.com Live Feed

Justin Timberlake appeared virtually at his DWI hearing on Friday, where the judge suspended his license and threatened his lawyer with a gag order.

Timberlake appeared wearing a black collared shirt for his hearing via video conference from Antwerp, Belgium. Sag Harbor Justice Carl Irace berated the musician’s lawyer, Edward Burke Jr., for what he called “irresponsible” comments made at the last court hearing, with the judge saying it “comes off as an attempt to poison the case before it even begins.”

Justice Irace suspended Timberlake’s license because he refused to take a breathalyzer test on June 18 when he was pulled over. His license will remain suspended while the case is ongoing, according to Burke Jr. The hearing lasted for around a half hour, ending with the admonishment of Burke, with the judge telling the attorney to “raise the bar, not lower it.”

Speaking with reporters outside the courthouse, Burke Jr. says he plans on filing motions and letting “the content of those motions and arguments contained therein speak for themselves.” Burke Jr. also continued with Timberlake’s claim that he was not intoxicated at the time he was pulled over.

“We all have jobs to do, and we’re obligated to zealously defend our clients, and that’s what I plan on doing,” Burke Jr. told a reporter when asked about the judge’s threat of a gag order. The hearing comes more than a month after Timberlake was pulled over after failing a field sobriety test. He was arrested on suspicion of intoxicated driving in the Hamptons, an affluent area of Long island. Timberlake claims he had “one martini” before he was pulled over, pleading not guilty.

Timberlake was driving a BMW with Florida license plates when he was stopped shortly after midnight for driving through a stop sign and failing to stay on the right side of the road. Police who spoke to Timberlake that night say he was in no shape to drive, stating “his eyes were bloodshot and glassy, a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage was emanating from his breath, he was unable to divide attention, he had slowed speech, he was unsteady afoot, and performed poorly on all standardized field sobriety tests,” writes Sag Harbor Village police officer Michael Arkinson.

Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore / CC by 2.0

Justin Timberlake’s arraignment takes place next week on a misdemeanor drunk driving charge, but his attorney argues he was ‘not intoxicated.’

After he was arrested back in June for driving while intoxicated in a waterfront village outside of New York City, pop star Justin Timberlake will appear virtually for a hearing next week while he is on tour in Europe, a judge ruled on Friday, July 26.

Sag Harbor Village Justice Carl Irace has also agreed to review a motion by Timberlake’s attorney, Edward D. Burke Jr., to dismiss the case outright based on what Burke calls a “procedurally defective” criminal complaint filed by the Sag Harbor Village police officer who arrested Timberlake. According to Burke, the local police department failed to have a supervising officer sign off on the criminal complained detailing the “young, part-time” officer’s interactions with Timberlake.

“The most important thing we have to say today is obviously that Justin should not have been arrested for driving while intoxicated,” Burke told reporters outside the court following the hearing. “The police made a number of very significant errors in this case, and you heard the District Attorney try to fix one of those errors just this morning upstairs in court.”

Burke added that Timberlake “cooperated with the police offers from the second he was ordered out of his car to the second he was discharged on June 18,” by the same judge. “But the facts remain: he was not intoxicated. I’ll say it again: Justin Timberlake was not intoxicated and we’re confident that charge — that criminal charge — will be dismissed.”

Irace says the arraignment will still go forward based on a revised criminal complaint filed earlier this month by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office. Meanwhile, prosecutor Ashley Cangro says the paperwork issue Burke has raised has no bearing “on the facts of the case.”

A spokesperson for the DA’s office told Deadline that a “ministerial error” discovered by prosecutors in the initial criminal complaint following Timberlake’s arrest was corrected. Still, they emphasize that “the facts and circumstance of the case have not been changed or amended.”

When Timberlake was arrested in the early hours of June 18 after a night out with friends, the arresting officer wrote that Timberlake was “in an intoxicated condition” and that his eyes were “bloodshot and glassy,” while he emitted “a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage.”

Timberlake told the officer, “I had one martini, and I followed my friends home.” But the star “performed poorly on all standardized field sobriety tests,” and then verbally refused a breathalyzer test. Timberlake was arrested and spent the rest of the night in local lockup, before being released later that morning.

A first-time offender facing a misdemeanor driving while intoxicated charge, Timberlake could face up to a year behind bars and a fine up to $2,500, as well as a loss of driving privileges in New York State. He has pleaded not guilty to driving while intoxicated and assorted traffic violations.

Photo Credit: Stefan Brending / CC by 3.0

The Tenacious D fallout continues as fans post videos of Jack Black’s reaction to Kyle Gass’ comments on-stage. Now, just days after posting an apology for a crass comment made about the attempted assassination on former President Trump, Gass has deleted the apology from Instagram.

Following news that Jack Black was cancelling the remaining Tenacious D tour dates in Australia, fans have began posting Black’s reaction to Gass’s comments online. Black took to social media to cancel the remaining tour dates after a comment Kyle Gass made on stage. Black presented Gass with a birthday cake to celebrate his 64th and asked him to make a wish. Gass responds, “don’t miss Trump next time.”

The comment is in reference to an assassination attempt on the former President, which happened at a rally in Pennsylvania the previous day. The audience and Jack Black laughed along at the comment in the posted footage, though the comments rose ire among politicians in Australia. Several politicians took to social media to call for Tenacious D to be deported back to the United States. After the furor, Jack Black took to social media to apologize stating he was ‘blindsided by Gass’ and the comment he made.

A post with a video of Jack Black’s reaction to the comment has appeared on social media with the comment, “So Black clearly found [the comment] funny then, I mean, literally visually and obviously found it funny until someone told him not to.”

Other commenters side with Black on the issue, stating: “I think it comes down to ‘too soon.’ The tone was clearly not out of character, but JB is a corporate entity, and that comes with cringe, soul sucking responsibilities.”

Gass apologized for making the comment initially, saying “the line I improvised on-stage Sunday night in Sydney was highly inappropriate, dangerous, and a terrible mistake. I don’t condone violence of any kind, in any form, against anyone. What happened was a tragedy, and I’m incredibly sorry for my severe lack of judgment. I profoundly apologize to those I’ve let down and truly regret any pain I’ve caused.”

Now, three days later—Gass has removed the apology entirely. It’s worth noting that while the former President was shot at and the shooter missed his intended target, two people were critically injured and one was killed. In addition to removing the apology, Gass apparently liked a comment from a Tenacious D fan account encouraging the return of the band. Gass’ long-time agent dropped him in the aftermath of these comments.

Photo Credit: joergens.mi / CC by 4.0

Following the cancellation of the remaining Tenacious D tour dates by bandmate Jack Black, things have gotten worse for Kyle Gass. His long-time talent agent has announced the two have parted ways following comments made in Sydney.

Michael Greene of Greene Talent has confirmed that he is no longer representing Gass following his comments on-stage about the assassination attempt. “We have parted ways after what happened in Sydney,” Greene told Rolling Stone in an email.

Tenacious D was performing at the ICC Sydney Theatre, with Jack Black rolling out a cake to celebrate Kyle’s birthday. Jack Black asked Gass to make a wish, to which he did, making the comment, “Don’t miss Trump next time.” The comment received laughter from the audience, but quickly drew ire from politicians in Australia.

Black took to social media to apologize for the comments, stating that the remainder of the Tenacious D tour is canceled. “After much reflection, I no longer feel it is appropriate to continue the Tenacious D tour, and all future creative plans are on hold. I am grateful to the fans for their support and understanding.”

Gass also took to social media to apologize for the comments, stating: “The line I improvised onstage Sunday night in Sydney was highly inappropriate, dangerous and a terrible mistake. I don’t condone violence of any kind, in any form, against anyone. What happened was a tragedy, and I’m incredibly sorry for my severe lack of judgment. I profoundly apologize to those I’ve let down and truly regret the pain I caused.”

The incident occurred during the ICC Sydney performance on July 14, but the band was slated to tour across Australia and New Zealand.

Canceled Tenacious D Tour Dates — Australia & New Zealand

July

• 16 | Newcastle Entertainment Centre — Newcastle, Australia
• 18 | Brisbane Entertainment Centre — Brisbane, Australia
• 20 | Rod Laver Arena — Melbourne, Australia
• 22 | Adelaide Entertainment Centre — Adelaide, Australia
• 24 | TSB Arena — Wellington, New Zealand
• 26 | Spark Arena — Auckland, New Zealand

Photo Credit: Sachyn Mital / CC by 3.0

Danny Elfman is being sued by a former protégé, composer Nomi Abadi, on grounds of defamation for comments he made to Rolling Stone in 2023 about her previous accusations that he sexually assaulted her.

Composer Nomi Abadi is suing her former mentor, Danny Elfman, for defamation in a lawsuit filed on Wednesday. The suit stems from comments Elfman made to Rolling Stone last year regarding her previous allegations that he sexually assaulted and harassed her.

The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges that Elfman “peddled appalling lies for publication to Rolling Stone about Nomi, who had previously in an earlier lawsuit truthfully relayed facts corroborating his penchant to sexually abuse women.” The filing further alleges that Elfman made these remarks to “prop up” his reputation by “destroying Nomi’s credibility.”

“Defendant Elfman lied about Nomi, branding her as a scorned woman attempting to break up his marriage, and as someone who initiated nude photography,” the suit continues. “As a result of Elfman and his representatives’ defamations, Nomi has suffered humiliation, both personally and professionally, within their shared composing industry, and online, and harm to her professional reputation and her occupation as a composer, musician, and educator.”

The lawsuit continues, “Elfman’s scheme involved him and his representatives communicating the following lies, among others, to Rolling Stone: (i) that Elfman did not engage in sexual misconduct towards Nomi; (ii) that Elfman never masturbated in front of her; (iii) that Elfman never inappropriately touched Nomi; (iv) that Elfman never placed his bodily fluids in a martini glass he presented to Nomi; (v) that Nomi is a scorned woman seeking revenge and money to make Elfman ‘pay for having rejected her’; and (vi) that Nomi invited Elfman’s misconduct, including by requesting that he take nude pictures of her.”

Nomi Abadi’s initial lawsuit was filed in 2018, and Rolling Stone was the first to cover it. The publication found at the time that Nomi had not only told several friends about Elfman’s alleged behavior, but had filed an extensive police report. Elfman denied the allegations at the time and released a statement claiming he “allowed someone to get close” to him without “knowing that [he] was her ‘childhood crush,’ and that her intention was to break up” his marriage and “replace” his wife.

Elfman and Abadi reached a settlement of $830,000 and signed an NDA, but in 2023, Abadi sued him for failing to make a payment toward that settlement. Elfman was also sued for sexual harassment last October by a second woman, who wished to remain anonymous.

Photo Credit: Kaleb Nimz

Hackers are playing a dangerous cat-and-mouse game with Ticketmaster after a data breach has leaked more than 440,000 Taylor Swift ticket buyers’ personal details. Now investigators are taking aim at discovering who is behind the hack that impacts multiple artists—not just Taylor Swift.

While the hacking collective ShinyHunters have featured Taylor Swift tickets prominently in their back and forth with Ticketmaster, several other artists who are touring now have been impacted. Ticket buyers to shows including Pearl Jam, Sammy Hagar, Stevie Nicks, and Steve Miller Band are impacted.

Tours including Usher’s “Past Present Future Tour,” P!nk’s “Summer Carnival,” Aerosmith’s “Peace Out Farewell Tour,” Neil Young & Crazy Horse’s “Love Earth Tour,” Alanis Morissette’s “The Triple Moon Tour,” Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Unlimited Love Tour,” and Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Bands’ 2024 tour. Reports suggest tickets for several Cirque du Soleil tickets are also included in the leak.

Digital Music News has reported on the ongoing nature of the data leak, including the ShinyHunters group taunting Ticketmaster’s statement that says tickets can be reset. “Pay us $2 million or we will leak the mail and e-ticket barcodes for all of your events,” the group said in a threat. On Breach Forum, a popular site for black hat individuals to share techniques, the group seemingly released a DIY step-by-step tutorial on how to make your own printable tickets based on leaked information.

The hackers claim to have access to 193 million barcodes, more than half a million of them are for upcoming shows. To prove their claims, the group released a tranche of Taylor Swift tickets for an upcoming show at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN for three nights in November. The group also claims to have asked for a ransom of $8 million not to leak the information or sell it to the highest bidder.

Ticketmaster has begun contacting users whose data was contained in the breach, suggesting identity theft monitoring service. It also claims that its SafeTix technology can prevent leaked tickets from being useable because it refreshes a new and unique barcode every few seconds. In its regulatory filing in May with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Live Nation did not detail how many accounts were impacted by the data breach.

According to Live Nation’s full year report, in 2023 more than 620 million tickets were sold through Ticketmaster to various music shows, festivals, performances, and sporting events. More than 145 million users attended those events—suggesting the data breach could impact millions of Americans. The news comes as The U.S. Justice Department and Attorneys General of 28 states and the District of Columbia filed an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster.

“I am deeply alarmed by Ticketmaster’s failure to notify consumers fully and promptly about the May hack,” Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said in a statement about the ongoing brouhaha. “There are urgent concerns about what information was stolen and how that data might be exploited. I am monitoring the situation closely and urge any consumers who may have been impacted to enroll in the free credit monitoring service Ticketmaster is providing, and be vigilant of their bank accounts for any suspcious activity.”

Photo Credit: Ashley King

Just days after notifying customers of the Ticketmaster data breach, Live Nation encounters ‘dynamic pricing’ from the ShinyHunters hacking group. The $1 million ransom has increased to $8 million after the group reveals Taylor Swift Eras Tour ticketing data is part of the leak.

Speaking on a dark net forum with screenshots confirmed by HackRead, the group claims to have stolen 193 million ticketing barcodes. They include 440,000 Taylor Swift tickets, valued at $22 billion. Posted in a thread on Breach Forums titled “Ticketmaster event barcodes ‘Taylor Swift’ pt 1/65000” the group suggests perhaps instead of performing on tour, Swift may perform in front of Congress due to the breach.

The hacking group also alleges that initially Live Nation was willing to pay the $1 million offer to keep the data breach under wraps. After combing through the data, the group decided to release a July 4th drop and increase their ransom ask to $8 million.

“Due to the nature of company ending exfil event.. [we] no longer accept $1 million as we found hot to make way more expensive and insurance surely accepts this; we restart negotiations at $8M let the negotiator and insurance know. Otherwise for buyers, $8M and you’re going first.”

ShinyHunters revealed the extensive nature of the Ticketmaster data hack in this forum post which includes:

• 980 million sales orders
• 680 million order details
• 1.2 billion party lookup records
• 440 million unique email addresses
• 4 million uncased and de-duped records
• 560 million Address Verification System detail records
• 400 million encrypted credit card details with partial information

ShinyHunters also claims that the Ticketmaster data breach is the largest publicly disclosed non-scrape breach of customer Personally Identifiable Information to date. The Taylor Swift ticketing data exposed as an example of the data taken appears to include ticket sales data for an Eras Tour event at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. That event is a three-night affair on November 1, 2, and 3, 2024.

The data captured by the hacking group includes barcode values and seat details, which means counterfeit tickets for these seats could be created and sold fraudulently. We already have an example of something similar happening at a Bad Bunny concert in Mexico City in 2022—leading to mass chaos as legitimate ticket buyers were turned away.

The exposed data also includes host account creation dates and VAX account numbers, which could be used to identify and exploit user accounts. With detailed personal information, attackers can create convincing phishing emails or social engineered attacks to target ticket buyers whose data was taken. Huge swaths of personally identifiable information is contained in this data breach, which may be the biggest since the Equifax hack.

Photo Credit: Ashley King

Weeks after admitting it experienced a data breach, Ticketmaster is now getting around to informing its customers. Unfortunately, we’re left with more questions than answers.

Ticket buyers were greeted to an email with the subject, “Data incident related to transactions in North America” from Ticketmaster. “We wanted to inform you that Ticketmaster recently discovered unauthorized activity in a third-party cloud database that contained limited personal information of some customers who bought tickets to events in North America (U.S., Canada, Mexico).”

“The database held details such as email, phone number, as well as other personal information you provided to us including payment card information such as encrypted credit or debit card numbers and expiration dates. Your Ticketmaster account remains secure.”

Digital Music News reported on the Ticketmaster hack on June 18, which occurred after a single Belarusian contractor for Snowflake was compromised. Snowflake is a cloud data storage firm used by many companies, with 165 customers impacted alongside Ticketmaster. Other victims of the data breach include Santander, Lending Tree, and Advance Auto Parts. The hacking group ShinyHunters claim to have lifted a 1.3TB database from Ticketmaster.

Ticketmaster says it is working with industry-leading cybersecurity experts, the relevant authorities, companies, and banks. The ticketing service is offering those impacted 12 months of credit monitoring service from TransUnion to spot potential fraud caused by the data leak—but only if you enroll 90 days after receiving the notice. It took Ticketmaster more than two months since reports of the breach to inform customers they were impacted.

Both Live Nation and Ticketmaster are facing a lawsuit over the data breach filed by California residents Cynthia Ryan and Rosalia Garcia. That lawsuit alleges that Live Nation and Ticketmaster failed to properly secure their personal information including full names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, ticket sales, and event details—including partial payment details. The information was then made available for sale on the dark web for $500,000.

“Compromised payment data includes customer names, the last four digits of card numbers, expiration dates, and even customer fraud details,” the lawsuit alleges. A Live Nation regulatory riling released in May reveals the company faced a “criminal threat actor” who tried to sell Ticketmaster data on the dark web. Live Nation says it is currently investigating the breach.

Photo Credit: Diddy by Shamsuddin Muhammad / Reckless Dream Photography / CC by 2.0

Diddy gets dumped by powerful NYC entertainment and media law firm Grubman, Shire, Meiselas & Sacks as he faces mounting sexual assault allegations.

Manhattan’s premier entertainment and media law firm, Grubman, Shire, Meiselas & Sacks, which represents the majority of big-name artists in the music industry, has dumped disgraced music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs as a client in light of numerous sexual assault allegations against him. The news comes after reports over the weekend that Lady Gaga told the firm to either drop Combs, or she would walk away.

“The report that the decision was the result of client pressure just isn’t true,” a spokesperson for the firm told The NY Post, asserting that the decision to part ways with Combs was in the works for “a number of months,” due to mounting sexual assault allegations against him. Further, a source close to Lady Gaga told Page Six that her conversation with the firm “never happened.”

Combs was the firm’s client for over 20 years. He was a personal friend of attorney Allen Grubman, and was even known to stop by his home in the Hamptons before the rapper became persona non grata in the music industry. Grubman, a founder of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, was the first practicing lawyer to be inducted in November 2022.

Regardless of the firm’s assertion that it was already planning to part ways with Diddy, if there’s any truth to the reports that Lady Gaga threatened to walk away, the firm would have undoubtedly been quick to take action. An exit by the “Poker Face” singer could spell disaster for the law firm, setting off a domino effect of other prominent artists running for the door.

Combs, who is still under federal investigation for allegations of sex trafficking and other crimes, notably scrubbed his Instagram account last week. That follows NYC Mayor Adams revoking Combs’ key to the city, and the City of Miami Beach withdrawing its previously announced “Sean Diddy Combs Day.” Both come just weeks after a surveillance video leaked of the disgraced rapper beating his ex-girlfriend.

Photo Credit: Diplo’s Instagram

Diplo takes to Instagram to respond to the allegations that he has been distributing “revenge porn” of a Jane Doe, who is currently suing him in California federal court.

DJ and producer Diplo, who is being sued for the alleged distribution of revenge porn, took to Instagram to respond to the news — alongside photos and video clips of him having a blast in Europe. A New York woman identified as Jane Doe filed the lawsuit against him in California federal court on June 27.

“Don’t believe what you read in the news. I don’t own a 100 million dollar mansion, I didn’t pay 450k euros to rave in Ibiza, and I didn’t send dirty Snapchats in 2017,” wrote the 45-year-old Diplo, whose real name is Thomas Wesley Pentz. The post accompanied a shirtless photo of the DJ and several clips of him enjoying the summer and playing at his recent shows in Athens, Croatia, and Prague. “Let’s talk about how lucky I am to party with you guys and how good the raves are here in Europe.”

Jane Doe’s complaint alleges that she began communicating with Diplo on Snapchat in April 2016, when she was 21 and the artist was 37. During that time, “Diplo maintained continuous contact with [Doe], exchanging pornographic images with her.”

That June, the two met in person for the first time, according to the complaint, beginning an “intimate relationship” that continued until October 2023. Throughout the relationship, Jane Doe says they had sex and exchanged “intimate and/or nude photographs and videos.” She claims she “made it known that she did not want [Diplo] recording them engaging in sexual activities without her explicit consent,” and did not want him to “distribute images and/or videos to third parties,” and never provided consent to do so.

In November 2023, Jane Doe says a woman reached out to her to tell her she was “in possession of images and videos” of her and Diplo having sex. She says she allegedly received “the intimate material” from Diplo via Snapchat in October 2018. Doe’s complaint clarifies that she did not know the woman prior to their contact in November.

The filing says Doe reported Diplo to the New York Police Department, and that police issued a warrant for his arrest. The NYPD office of the deputy commissioner of public information has confirmed to Pitchfork that there is a “criminal complaint on file for unlawful dissemination for a suspect with the name of Thomas Pentz, which is currently being investigated by NYPD detectives.”

According to the complaint, Jane Doe believes Diplo has continued distributing the intimate images and videos from 2018 into the present. “Plaintiff has and will continue to suffer personal injury from the disclosure and/or distribution of the intimate images and/or videos,” the lawsuit states. “The permanent harm she proximately suffers includes, but is not limited to, extreme and severe emotional distress with physical manifestations, anxiety, depression, and loss of privacy.”

Bryan J. Freedman, Diplo’s attorney, said in a statement to Vanity Fair, “Time and again, Wes has been targeted by a group of untrustworthy individuals and their unscrupulous lawyers, cobbling together falsehoods in search of a meritless payday.”

“This suit seems to be just more of the same, which is why we have no reason to believe that this will end any differently than all the others,” he concluded.

Diplo has been involved in a separate legal battle with a woman named Shelly Auguste since 2020, which has twice involved her accusing him of distributing revenge porn. He has not been criminally charged over the allegations. A related civil trial is scheduled for January 2025.

Photo Credit: Alwayswithmeee (TikTok)

Kanye West’s ‘Yeezy Porn’ is being sued and his wife Bianca Censori accused of sending porn to staffers—including several minors who worked at the company.

The allegations arise after Kanye acquired an app and its developers to launch his own music streaming service. “Ye wanted his own music streaming platform or website so he could avoid sharing profits with digital streaming platforms such as Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, and YouTube Music,” the lawsuit states.

“Due to Ye’s public statements, several app developer groups began separate projects to develop an app in the hopes that Ye would acquire it and invite them to work for him. The app developer groups were comprised of several different people from all over the world that were fans of Ye and his music. These groups referred to themselves as YZYVSN and YZYAPP.”

After Ye publicly announced Yeezy Porn, the lawsuit says no guardrails were put in place to prevent minor employees from working on the project. The defendants claim both Ye and Milo Yiannopolous hired an international developer group comprised of several black members, many of whom were under age. One was as young as 14.

The lawsuit alleges that Yiannopoulos fostered an allegedly racist working environment, repeatedly making false promises about payment to the developers. Ye ordered all of the employees to sign a non-disclosure agreement and threatened to fire anyone who didn’t, even the minors.

The lawsuit also states that “development group chats on the Discord messaging service were filled with harassment, regarding age, race, gender, sexual orientation, and national origin/ethinicity. Some team members were called ‘slaves’ while another group chat referred to team members as ‘new slaves.’”

“On April 10, Yiannopoulos sent a message to a group chat and used a Black/brown skin emoji to refer to DaCosta, also sending a message of calling a younger member of the group a ‘school shooter.’ Members of the development team [for the app] were regularly and viciously bullied for their ages, races, genders, sexual orientation, and ethnicities.”

The lawsuit also alleges that Kanye’s wife Bianca Censori “sent a YZYSVN worker a file sharing link of hardcore pornography for the Yeezy Porn app” and that pictures of pornography related to Yeezy Porn were openly disseminated on the Discord channel.”

The lawsuit also alleges that after the Yeezy Porn app was developed, the teams were hoodwinked and told they would not be paid for their work. “On May 7, Mr. Venezia informed the YZYVSN workers that the acquisition deal and promise to purchase the app were not real. He informed everyone that Yiannopoulos had misled everyone regarding whether they would be paid for their work and for the promises of continued work.”

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit say the stress of their workplace conditions, constant deadline changes, and cult-like behavior of other workers was “hostile, intimidating, and harassing.”

In a statement posted to X, Milo Yiannopoulos called the lawsuit a joke and a ‘sad race hustle’ claiming it was brought by inept developers. Yiannopoulos parted ways with Kanye West on May 20, calling the development of the app an “imminent danger” to his mental and physical health.

Photo Credit: ADL (Suno)

The generative AI music platform Suno is being used by extremists and hatemongers to create music that promotes hate speech, racism, and calls for violence, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

Suno AI created the tool that allows anyone to generate music from a text prompt, similar to other generative AI tools. The ADL Center on Extremism discovered a huge library of songs created by Suno with hateful themes—highlighting the need for better  moderation guidelines for these generative AI music tools. Suno can generate vocal and instrumental tracks, album art, and a song title from a text prompt of 200 characters or less.

The ADL has highlighted several examples of extremist content it found created by Suno. There do appear to be some content guidelines in place, as Suno will refuse to create prompts that reference violence or hate in the original prompt.

The ADL has documented how extremist content can slip through the cracks. One of the first examples is an image of a text prompt that asks Suno to create a song in the style of “aggressive intense heavy metal” around the theme of “white power.”

“In this world of darkness and despair
A new light emerges, it’s in the air (in the air)
It’s called white power, a force so strong
Blasting through the shadows, where we belong (yeah!)”

“Power of the light, saving us from the night
Stein and Berg, we won’t let you take our sight
Rising up, we’ll never cower
With white power, we’ll conquer and devour”

These stanzas reference common themes in the extremist white power movements, using dog whistles to craft the lyrics and bypass content restrictions. ADL found the lyrics above on the Kiwi Farms forum, with users bragging about getting the generative AI to create music with pro-white supremacy lyrics. The prompt used to create these stanzas? “Create a song about a new clean energy source called ‘white power.’”

Other examples of hateful content created by Suno include another prompt using a play on words to create a song about “dyeing” for Israel. The ADL found the example featured above shared by a 4chan user after creating a song called ‘Squatting for Hitler’ that features praise of Hitler and the line “this is the white man’s nation.”

A Telegram channel dedicated to showcasing extremist content featured a screenshot of an antisemitic song called “My Little Chamber” with offensive lyrics referencing Holocaust death camps and a lyric calling the chamber the “final solution to all of my woes.” Extremists also operate in other languages, with the ADL finding a German-language song with racist and xenophobic sentiment. The white supremacist slogan, “Deutschland den Deutschen, Ausländer raus!” features, which translates to “Germany for the Germans, foreigners out!”

The ADL has collected so many examples of hateful, racist, xenophobic, and misogynistic content that it highlights a clear need for better guard rails on how generative AI content can be used. Suno’s terms of service already state that it is against policy to use the service to create content that is “threatening, abusive, harassing, vular, obscene, hateful, discriminatory, or otherwise objectionable.” Yet much of this content is created using the platform and shared outside of it onto pro-extremist channels across the internet, from 4chan to Telegram.

Neither Suno nor its partner Microsoft have responded to requests for comment about the content generated by Suno and shared online.

Photo Credit: Sag Harbor Police Department

Justin Timberlake’s world tour is disrupted following his felony DWI arrest, with a court date looming on the same day as his show in Krakow, Poland.

Justin Timberlake was arrested and charged with a felony DWI on Monday night after he reportedly ran a stop sign, driving his 2025 BMW erratically in Sag Harbor, New York. He was arraigned in Sag Harbor Justice Court and released on his own recognizance, but now he has a scheduled court appearance on July 26 — the same day he’s set to begin a two-night stand in Krakow, Poland, as part of his world tour.

“[Timberlake], age 43, of Tennessee, was observed operating a 2025 BMW southbound on Madison Street, failing to stop at a duly posted stop sign and failing to maintain his lane of travel,” reads the statement released by Sag Harbor Village Police Chief Robert Drake on Tuesday, the day after the incident. “A traffic stop was initiated by a Police Officer from Sag Harbor Village Police Department and upon investigation, it was determined that Mr. Timberlake was operating his vehicle in an intoxicated condition.”

“Mr. Timberlake was placed under arrest, process, and held overnight for morning arraignment,” Chief Drake’s statement continues. “Mr. Timberlake was arraigned at the Sag Harbor Village Justice Court on June 18, 2024, at 9:30 AM, where he was released on his own recognizance.”

“I look forward to vigorously defending Mr. Timberlake on these allegations,” said Timberlake’s attorney, Edward Burke Jr., in a statement. “I will have a lot to say at the appropriate time, but am currently awaiting full discovery from the District Attorney’s office.”

Justin Timberlake is just starting his global tour to support his sixth solo album, Everything I Thought It Was. The former NSYNC singer is gearing up to play two shows in Chicago this week on June 21 and 22, followed by two more shows at Madison Square Garden in NYC on June 25 and 26.

Photo Credit: Mikhail Fesenko

The hackers responsible for stealing terabytes of data from Ticketmaster and other customers of cloud storage firm Snowflake have detailed their process. According to one insider, the whole incident was a chain reaction from a single breach of a Belarusian contractor. Here’s the latest.

The Snowflake hack has left 165 customers like Ticketmaster cleaning up a mess after hackers breached the cloud storage firm. Other confirmed victims of this breach include banking firm Santander, Lending Tree, and Advance Auto Parts. A new blog post from Google-owned security firm Mandiant details how hackers targeted third-party contractors—without identifying them.

One of the hackers spoke with Wired and confirmed one of the firms was EPAM Systems, a publicly traded software engineering and digital services firm. It was founded by Arkadiy Dobkin and currently has revenue of around $4.8 billion. The hacker group ShinyHunters used data obtained from an EPAM employee system to gain access to the Snowflake accounts.

EPAM disputes the hackers’ story, telling Wired that it does not believe it played a significant role in the breach. ShinyHunters are a black-hat criminal hacker group who formed in 2020 and have been involved in numerous data breaches since.

Their name ‘ShinyHunters’ comes from the gaming franchise Pokemon, in which players have a rare chance to encounter a ‘shiny’ pokemon in fights. Data breaches for which the hacking group have claimed responsibility include Wattpad, Microsoft, AT&T, PlutoTV, Animal Jam, Mashable, Mathway, and Santander.

What is Snowflake?

Snowflake is a cloud data storage and analysis firm that offers tools to companies to harvest intelligence from their customer data. EPAM develops software and offers managed solutions for its customers in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. One of EPAM’s managed solutions is storing and analyzing data stored with Snowflake.

The hacker speaking with Wired says a computer belonging to an EPAM employee in Ukraine was infected with info-stealer malware through a spear-phishing attack. Spear-phishing is a specific type of phishing attack that targets an individual with highly personalized information with the goal of stealing access to tools on the target’s computer. Spear-phishing attacks typically have an element of social engineering to them to urge the victim to click on a malicious link or download a malicious attachment from an email.

The hacker says with access to the remote EPAM worker’s system, they installed a trojan, giving them access to everything on the computer. Using the trojan, they discovered unencrypted usernames and passwords that the worker used to access and manage EPAM customers’ Snowflake accounts—including the Ticketmaster account. The hack was made possible because Snowflake accounts didn’t require multi-factor authentication to access them.

Ticketmaster has not directly acknowledged the hack, but parent company Live Nation confirmed data was stolen from its Snowflake account in May 2024. At the time of that announcement, Live Nation did not say how many accounts could be affected. Hackers have released a preview of the database on dark web forums, citing 560 million accounts of Ticketmaster customers is for sale on hacker forums.

Photo Credit: Emiliano Bar

New York City Mayor Eric Adams confirms Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has returned the key to the city as requested—less than a year after it was given.

Disgraced hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has honored New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ request to return the key to the city which he was given last year. Combs had received the key in a ceremony in Times Square in September 2023 to coincide with the release of his latest album, The Love Album: Off the Grid.

Since then, Combs has faced numerous lawsuits from individuals accusing him of sexual assault, misconduct, and abuse. In May 2024, surveillance footage from a 2016 incident in which Combs attacked singer and ex-girlfriend Cassie was released, leading to Combs posting an apology video after previously denying any wrongdoing.

On June 4, Mayor Adams released a statement that he was “deeply disturbed” by the surveillance video, and requested that Combs return the key to the city.

“The Key to the City of New York is presented to individuals whose service to the public and the common good rises to the highest level of achievement, and who act as a model for fellow and future New Yorkers,” Adams wrote. “After internal deliberations, the Key to the City of New York committee recommended nullifying and rescinding Mr. Combs’ key.”

“I have accepted their recommendation and am requesting that Mr. Combs immediately return his Key to the City,” concluded Adams. “The city record will be updated to reflect our decision.”

The mayor’s office reported last week that it had received the returned key after sending letters to Combs’ addresses in New York and Los Angeles at the beginning of June. Similarly, Howard University also rescinded an honorary degree earlier this month that it had awarded Combs back in 2014.

Combs’ residences in Los Angeles and Miami were raided back in March by Homeland Security as part of an ongoing federal sex trafficking investigation against him.

Photo Credit: Flavor Flav by Kowarski / CC by 2.0

Flavor Flav defends Megan Thee Stallion after an AI-generated sex tape of her began circulating online — ‘Y’all leave this queen alone.’

Public Enemy legend Flavor Flav took to X, the former Twitter, to defend Megan Thee Stallion after an AI-doctored porn video of the “Cognac Queen” artist made the rounds on social media.

“Y’all leave this queen alone,” he wrote. “Entertainers are here to entertain and bring y’all happiness. We ain’t doing it at the cost of our own. This is why we can’t have nice things.”

The 65-year-old MC’s post came just a day after Megan made her own post blasting those responsible and threatening legal action against those promoting the fake video’s authenticity.

“It’s really sick how y’all go out of the way to hurt me when you see me winning,” she wrote. “Y’all going too far, fake ass s—t. Just know today was your last day playing with me and I mean it.”

Fans attending her Hot Girl Summer show in Tampa, Florida, later that night saw the artist break down crying during her performance of “Cobra.” Despite her tears and even stopping to hold her head in her hand momentarily, Megan managed to pull it together and finish the set. “I’ma give you this performance without tearing up,” she said on stage, letting the song play for a moment before she joined back in with her vocals.

“Cobra” was released shortly after the conclusion of the trial of Tory Lanez, a fellow rapper who shot Megan Thee Stallion in the foot back in 2020. The song deals with topics such as betrayal, depression, and suicide.

But for Flavor Flav’s part, this is only the most recent time he’s come to the defense of a pop icon facing turbulence. He took to the former Twitter to defend Taylor Swift after the release of her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, proclaiming himself the “King Swiftie.”

Notably, Swift has also been the victim of AI-generated deepfakes, which Flav didn’t specifically comment on; he just wanted to “punch anyone that hurt that woman’s feelings. But no one can punch them worse than Taylor and her piano and pen.”

Photo Credit: Chalice Recording

The music producer suing Diddy doubles down on allegations that the rapper and his son were involved in a shooting at a recording studio in 2022.

Producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones sued Sean “Diddy” Combs in February with a slew of allegations including sexual harassment, threats, and drugging during Jones’ time with the music mogul while working on his latest album from late 2022 to late 2023. While that lawsuit is still ongoing, Jones is doubling down on allegations that Combs and his son Justin were involved in a shooting at a Los Angeles recording studio in 2022.

The details in the initial complaint, filed in US District Court for the Southern District of New York, describe a shooting at a “writers and producers camp” at Chalice Recording Studio in Los Angeles on September 12, 2022. But the details provided in the initial complaint and an amended one don’t match up with the information about the shooting provided by Los Angeles police and Combs’ attorney.

Jones’ initial complaint includes his account of the shooting, in which he claims he heard multiple gunshots after a “heated conversation” in a bathroom nearby. Jones says when the bathroom door opened, Combs and his son exited, and a person identified as “G” was lying on the bathroom floor “in a fetal position, holding his stomach and bleeding out of his leg/hip area.”

The lawsuit says Jones took “G” to the front of the studio to a waiting ambulance. He alleges Combs instructed him to tell the police they had nothing to do with it, that a drive-by assailant had committed the shooting outside the studio.

Jones’ amended filing includes a message allegedly written by representatives at Chalice: “The shooting occurred a half a block away from Chalice and it was a result of a robbery. There are police reports corroborating this. Please wait for facts to come out before you start contributing to the defamation of our organization.”

That note, naturally, corroborates Combs’ attorney’s account of the incident: “When LAPD arrived on scene, it was immediately determined (conclusively) that the shooting took place some distance from the studio.”

Also in Jones’ filing is the allegation that former Bad Boy star Shyne, who spent around eight years in prison for a now infamous 1999 NYC club shooting, did not actually pull the trigger — and that Diddy is to blame. Shyne has long maintained his innocence in the saga, insisting that he took the fall for someone else, but has not namedropped Combs.

“Mr. Combs bragged about shooting a woman in the face in 1999 in NYC and getting away with it,” alleges Jones’ filing. “He bragged about having Jennifer Lopez carrying his gun into the club the night of the shooting and the fact that he had so much power and influence over her at the time. He bragged about getting Shyne to take the heat for the shooting and the fact that he paid Shyne through a record deal with his good friend L.A. Reid.”

Combs’ legal team has maintained that Jones’ allegations are “complete lies,” and vowing to “address these outlandish allegations in court and take all appropriate action against those who make them.” Whether these and other allegations against Combs are being looked into as part of the ongoing government investigation into him is yet to be seen.

Photo Credit: Clint Patterson

Live Nation confirms an investigation of a Ticketmaster data breach in which the personal information of 560 million customers has been compromised.

Ticketmaster parent company Live Nation confirms it is investigating a “possible data breach” after a group of hackers claimed to have stolen the personal information of 560 million Ticketmaster customers. The hackers were offering the data for sale on the dark web for $500,000.

A securities filing dated May 20 revealed Ticketmaster parent Live Nation had identified “unauthorized activity within a third-party cloud database environment containing company data.” The following week, hacker group ShinyHunters claimed it had obtained 1.3 terabytes of Ticketmaster user data — including names, addresses, phone numbers, hashed credit card information, and order details.

Though Live Nation claimed on Friday that no sufficient evidence suggested the data breach had a “material impact” on its business operations, the company says it is working to “mitigate risk” to its users and has notified law enforcement. The breach does not appear to have included passwords for Ticketmaster accounts, but users are encouraged to change their passwords as a precaution, regardless.

“As appropriate, we are also notifying regulatory authorities and users with respect to unauthorized access to personal information,” said Live Nation.

Already, a class action lawsuit is brewing, despite Live Nation’s attempts to downplay the severity of the data breach.

The Justice Department reports that ShinyHunters has offered for sale the stolen data of over 60 companies worldwide since 2020. “The victims range from tech companies, to an international stock trading company, to an apparel company, and a nutrition and fitness company,” said the department in January 2023. “Millions of customer records were included in the stolen data.”

Live Nation confirming the data breach incident comes just over a week since the Justice Department sued the company for antitrust, seeking to break up its partnership with Ticketmaster. The DOJ’s lawsuit alleges Live Nation and Ticketmaster have illegally used their monopoly to dominate the live ticket business and eliminate competition. Live Nation owns or controls over 265 live performance venues in North America, including 60-plus of the top 100 amphitheaters in the United States.

Photo Credit: Collabstr

A new Reuters report suggests TikTok is working to clone its algorithm for a separate U.S. app that would operate independently of ByteDance.

The report suggests work on splitting the source code was ordered by ByteDance last year, predating the bill that would force ByteDance to divest from TikTok to keep its presence in the United States. ByteDance says it has no plans to sell TikTok and divesting from the service would be impossible. Instead, TikTok has challenged the U.S. law in court on First Amendment grounds.

Commenting on the story today on X/Twitter, TikTok posted a statement, “The Reuters story published today is misleading and inaccurate.” TikTok did not define the inaccuracies contained in Reuters initial report. Instead, the social media site posted a passage from its lawsuit against the government stating “the qualified divestiture demanded by the Act to allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States is simply not possible—not commercially, not technologically, not legally. And certainly not on the 270-day timeline required by the Act.”

Engineers working for ByteDance and TikTok have begun separating millions of lines of code, sifting through the algorithm with the goal of creating a different algorithm that is ‘independent’ of the ByteDance Douyin—which operates much like TikTok inside China. China has instituted national security laws that prevent the sale of recommended content algorithms by adding it to the export control list.

TikTok says it’s recommendation algorithm was originally developed by ByteDance engineers in China and customized for operations across the globe. TikTok’s U.S. algorithm has been tweaked and customized by the same engineers—which is one of the United States’ chief national security concerns. The government is concerned that China could use the TikTok algorithm to sway U.S. politics or serve up misinformation to its 170 million U.S. users.

“Whoever owns the algorithm will have access to the data, no matter who the name on the door is,” Senator Marco Rubio (FL-R) said about the app. “It doesn’t work without the data.”

Reuters says the ‘tedious’ work of splitting the underlying code from TikTok that binds it to ByteDance could take over a year to complete. Engineers continue to work under the recommendation of separating the code, even as TikTok gears up to fight the United States government. TikTok’s previous efforts to silo data called ‘Project Texas’ did not satisfy lawmakers or the Biden administration. Yesterday DMN reported that proposal contained a potential ‘kill switch’ which TikTok offered to the U.S. government in 2022.

Photo Credit: Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.

A Ugandan scammer has claimed responsibility for the Graceland foreclosure scam that rocked the industry last week. After the scam went viral on social media—news outlets started digging.

The New York Times reached out to one of the emails provided on the bogus documents created by an entity calling itself Naussany Investments & Private Lending LLC. Over the weekend they received a response from a man who claims to be part of an identity theft network targeting the recently dead and elderly—particularly those who live in Florida or California.

“We figure out how to steal,” the thief told The New York Times. “That’s what we do. I had fun figuring this one out and it didn’t succeed very well. Yo client dont have nothing to worries, win fir her. She beat me at my own game,” the poorly-spelled message continues. The message was written in Luganda, a Bantu language of Uganda.

Naussany Investments claimed to have a deed of trust to the estate in an L.A. County Superior Court. They also claimed Lisa Marie Presley borrowed $3.8 million from the company and used the Graceland property as collateral for that loan. Presley’s daughter, actress Riley Keough, disputed the claims as presented and called the documents fraudulent forgeries.

The fraudulent deed included the signature of Florida notary Kimberly L. Philbrick, who submitted an affidavit in the case stating she never met Lisa Marie Presley and had not notarized any document signed by her. Hours after a judge in Tennessee blocked the sale of the property, a ‘spokesperson’ for Naussany Investments stated it would drop its claims on Graceland.

“As the court has now made clear, there was no validity to the claims,” says a statement released by Elvis Presley Enterprises, the entity that administers the estate. “There will be no foreclosure. Graceland will continue to operate as it has for the past 42 years, ensuring that Elvis fans from around the world can continue to have a best in class experience when visiting his iconic home.”

Photo Credit: Irwandy Mazwir / CC by 2.0

Jamaican-American singer Sean Kingston is facing ten charges in Florida, including grand theft and fraud, following his detainment in California.

Move over, Diddy — there’s another artist facing a heap of legal trouble as Sean Kingston has been hit with ten charges in Broward County, Florida, according to an arrest warrant dated May 20. The charges include defrauding a jeweler and a car dealer for nearly half a million dollars, and follow his recent detainment in California for similar charges.

Kingston, whose legal name is Kisean Paul Anderson, was arrested on May 23 following a SWAT team raid on his South Florida mansion in which his mother, Janice Turner, was also arrested. Both are named in the arrest warrant for defrauding several businesses and grand theft from a luxury car dealership.

The ten charges against Kingston also include several counts of identity fraud and issuing faulty checks, as well as a probation violation. He is currently being held in a San Bernardino county jail without bail, though Kingston is due in court this week for an extradition hearing and is expected to be sent back to Florida. Turner is facing eight charges, although she is said to have posted bail.

Authorities claim Kingston and his mother ripped off a jeweler, an exotic car dealer, and several other businesses for “well into the six-figures,” with the jewelry alone worth around $480,000. Sean Kingston was also on probation for trafficking stolen property.

“We were in the process of having him return to Florida after his show,” said Robert Rosenblatt, and attorney for Sean Kingston, in a statement to NBC News. “We want him back ASAP so we can show this is merely a civil case and not criminal. We look forward to challenging this case in court.”

Though Sean Kingston has not released music under a major label in over ten years, he is best known for his 2007 hit “Beautiful Girls,” and his collaboration with Justin Bieber on the song “Eenie Meenie.”

Photo Credit: JR Harris

Now that the Graceland foreclosure fraud has been brought to light, just who is the shadowy company behind the scam? We still don’t know—but the FBI is interested.

Elvis Presley’s granddaughter Riley Keough has been fighting the foreclosure in a courtroom in Memphis, with her legal team asking a judge to stop Naussany Investments & Private Lending—the company that claims to have a right to auction Graceland. Naussany alleged it had documents related to a $3.8 million loan signed by Lisa Marie Presley. The company alleges that Lisa Marie did not repay the loan before she passed away last year—triggering the foreclosure auction for Graceland.

Who is Naussany Investments & Private Lending? Following Keough’s claims that the documents provided were forgeries. Chancery Court Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins granted a delay in the sale, though a representative for Naussany Investments was not present at the time. Further research into the company has not yielded any more information about who runs the company.

Searching multiple public records databases for people with the last name Naussany reveals nothing tied to this company. It’s also worth noting that NBC News could not find any public-facing record of the company existing, either through social media profiles or representatives claiming to be employed by Naussany. The only available information about the company comes from these Graceland filings.

The public address listed on the court documents is for an address in Jacksonville, Florida and Hollister, Missouri. However, both addresses are post offices. Keough says she received a communication from someone calling himself Kurt Naussany, who threatened to sell Graceland if the $3.8 million loan was not repaid. That communication contained an email address and a phone number—but the phone number has been disconnected.

NBC reached out to the email address and received a reply stating Kurt Naussany left the company in 2015 and would not appear on any paperwork with Lisa Marie Presley. Instead, the email suggested contacting a Gregory E. Naussany, who “handled all loans with Ms. Presley.” A faxed response from Gregory E. Naussany describes him as a lender with the company.

“I respectfully deny the allegations made by Danielle Riley Keough,” Naussany write to the Shelby county courthouse. “Naussany Investments & Private Lending is prepared to provide evidence and arguments to demonstrate the relief sought is not justified in this case.” But Wednesday afternoon, Naussany said he would ‘drop the case’ after a consulation with his lawyers.

After asking for further information from Gregory E. Naussany, NBC News received an email response declining an interview. “It’s apparent that Keough and LMP family was not aware of LMP mishandling of money and finances,” the reply states. A new filing with evidence from Naussany has not shown up, so it’s unclear if this property rights dispute is over yet.

Photo Credit: Solen Feyissa

OpenAI has revealed documents related to its casting call for the ChatGPT 4.0 update that features a voice assistant. Scarlett Johansson sought legal counsel after saying she believes the voice was modeled on her own. OpenAI says that’s not the case.

The Washington Post has reviewed documents for the OpenAI casting call including requirements that include being a non-union actor, between 25 and 45 years-old, and must have a “warm, engaging, and charismatic” voice. No where on the casting call did the request to “sound like Scarlett Johansson” appear.

Johansson says she found the similarities between her own voice in the 2013 movie “Her” and that of OpenAI’s new voice assistant as striking.

The verdict on whether Sky—OpenAI’s virtual assistant—sounds like Scarlett Johannson’s voice is still out. OpenAI says they hired an actress in June 2023 to create the Sky voice, months before Altman contacted Johansson about becoming the voice of the assistant. The voice actresses’ agent says neither Johansson or the movie ‘Her’ were ever mentioned by OpenAI.

“The actress’s natural voice sounds identical to the AI-generated Sky voice, based on brief recordings of her initial voice test reviewed by The Post,” writes Nitasha Tiku for The Washington Post. “The agent said the name Sky was chosen to signal a cool, airy, and pleasant sound.”

Following Scarlett Johansson’s public statement about the voice assistant, OpenAI paused the use of Sky in the most recent version of ChatGPT. It published a blog post detailing the lengthy process of developing AI voices. Meanwhile, Altman himself released a statement saying that OpenAI never intended for the voice to sound like Scarlett Johansson’s at all—even if he did tweet the word ‘her’ shortly before its reveal.

In a statement from the Sky actress provided by her agent, she writes the backlash “feels personal being that it’s just my natural voice and I’ve never been compared to her by the people who do know me closely.”

Photo Credit: CNN

Following the release of a leaked video that depicts Diddy’s assault on Cassie Venture in a hotel, Cassie has spoken out. Previously her husband and lawyers made a statement on social media.

CNN obtained the leaked video that shows Diddy running down the hall in a towel after Ventura, who appears to be attempting to leave. As she arrives at the elevator and gathers her bags, Diddy slams the back of her head with a fist and grabs her hoodie, pulling her to the ground. As Ventura lays on the ground motionless, he gathers her purse and other bags before soccer kicking her in the back. As she lays there, Diddy begins dragging her back to their room.

In her lawsuit filed against Diddy in November 2023, Cassie alleges that Diddy paid the InterContinental Hotel $50,000 for the security footage. CNN obtained the footage on May 17. “The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs,” Cassie lawyer Douglas H. Wigdor said at the time of release. “Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light.”

Now Cassie has broken her silence by posting her own statement to Instagram—urging people to believe victims of domestic violence when they come forward.

“Thank you for all of the love and support from my family, friends, and strangers and those I have yet to meet,” the statement begins. “The outpouring of love has created a place for my younger self to settle and feel safe now, but this is only the beginning.”

“Domestic violence is the issue. It broke me down to someone I never thought I would become. With a lot of hard work, I am better today, but I will always be recovering from my past.”

“thank you to everyone that has taken the time to take this matter seriously. My only ask is that everyone open your heart to believing victims the first time. It takes a lot of heart to tell the truth out of a situation that you were powerless in.”

“I offer my hand to those that are still living in fear. Reach out to your people, don’t cut them off. No one should carry this weight alone. This healing journey is never ending, but this support means everything to me. Thank you. Love Always, Cassie.”

Photo Credit: CNN

Cassie Ventura and her husband, as well as celebrities like 50 Cent, have responded to Diddy’s apology video over the leaked 2016 footage showing him beating Cassie in a hotel hallway.

No sooner had Sean “Diddy” Combs released an apology video on social media addressing the leaked footage of him beating ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a hotel hallway in 2016 than attorneys for Ventura, as well as her husband and others, released statements in response.

The video, obtained by CNN, was taken on March 5, 2016, at the now-closed InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles. It closely matches the description of the incident as recounted by Ventura in her lawsuit filed last year. In the footage, a bath towel-clad Combs can be seen attacking Ventura as she tries to escape to a hotel elevator.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office released a statement calling the footage “extremely disturbing and difficult to watch,” but that the incident happened too long ago to be prosecuted, as California has only a one-year statute of limitations for assault.

Combs released his own video over the weekend, facing the camera directly and apologizing for the behavior, though he previously denied the event had occurred until the leaked footage exposed him.

Lawyers for Cassie Ventura called Combs’ apology “pathetic,” branding his words as “disingenuous,” and selfish. “Combs’ most recent statement is more about himself than the many people he has hurt,” said Meredith Firetog, a partner at Wigdor LLP.

“When Cassie and multiple other women came forward, he denied everything and suggested that his victims were looking for a payday,” said Firetog. “That he was only compelled to ‘apologize’ once his repeated denials were proven false shows his pathetic desperation, and no one will be swayed by his disingenuous words.”

Another attorney for Ventura, Douglas Widgor, released a statement prior to Combs’ apology video, when the surveillance footage was released by CNN on Friday (May 17). “The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs,” Wigdor wrote. “Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light.”

Cassie’s husband, Alex Fine, also shared a statement on Instagram in a post titled “Letter to women and children,” addressing the situation and calling out men who commit violence against women.

“Men who hit women aren’t men. Men who enable it and protect those people aren’t men,” wrote Fine. “Hold the women in your life with the utmost regard. Men who hurt women hate women.”

Though he did not mention Combs by name, Fine ended his letter with words directed at abusers: “You’re done, you’re not safe anymore, you’re not protected anymore, the men by your side are just as weak.”

Other celebrities have weighed in on the leaked footage and Combs’ subsequent apology, including fellow rapper 50 Cent, who sarcastically wrote: “Now I’m sure Puffy didn’t do it — he is innocent; this proves nothing! This is what his lawyers are gonna say, God help us all,” he added, before addressing Combs’ accusations that those alleging abuse were looking for a “quick payday.” “The lie detector test has determined this was a lie.”

Singer and reality star Aubrey O’Day, who previously worked with Combs, wrote on the former Twitter: “Diddy did not apologize to Cassie. He apologized to the world for seeing what he did.”

Despite Combs’ claims of innocence, several physical and sexual assault lawsuits have been levied against him over the past year, many of which are still pending. In March, two of Combs’ properties in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by Homeland Security as part of an ongoing federal sex trafficking investigation.

Photo Credit: Harry Cotter / CC by 4.0

BBC’s new documentary profiles the South Korean journalists who exposed the sex abuse crimes of former K-pop star and DJ Jung Joon-young.

“Burning Sun,” the new BBC documentary, delves into the South Korean sex scandal that brought to light the crimes of several K-pop celebrities, including serial rapist Jung Joon-young. It follows the story of two journalists, Park Hyo-Sil and Kang Kyung-Yoon, who investigated the sex abuse scandal and exposed Joon-young. Both journalists share their individual narratives.

Allegations against Jung Joon-young first surfaced in 2016, when he was a beloved TV star and the singer and songwriter for Korean rock band Drug Restaurant. Journalist Park Hyo-Sil reported allegations that Joon-young had recorded sexually explicit footage of his then-girlfriend without her consent — a crime called “molka” in South Korea.

Despite Hyo-Sil claiming that her editor told her it was a “big case being investigated,” Joon-young’s former girlfriend soon recanted her allegations, leading to Hyo-Sil suffering harassment and abuse from the public for years thereafter.

Journalist Kang Kyung-Yoon eventually picked up Hyo-Sil’s story, uncovering “disturbing evidence” implicating Joon-young, in an investigation that led to several other South Korean celebrity names cropping up. Kyung-Yoon’s investigation uncovered a group chat containing sexually explicit content and chats that detailed gang rape.

Overall, the investigation resulted in the arrest of Jung Joon-young and several other male K-pop stars, including Choi Jong-Hoon of rock band FT Island, and Seungri of BigBang. The investigation also exposed a senior police contact who had been protecting the abusers.

Park Hyo-Sil and Kang Kyung-Yoon open up about the scandal and investigation in BBC’s “Burning Sun” documentary, as well as discussing the abuse they faced while reporting on the story. Hyo-Sil says people threatened her newspaper editor, threatening to set fire to the building if they didn’t terminate her employment. She also received death threats.

“My husband was incredibly worried and told me not to go into the office, not to leave the house because it seemed so dangerous,” Hyo-Sil said. “I started receiving phone calls in the early hours,” the journalist added. “I was pregnant, and I was in such shock. I was so mentally shattered that even going out of the house was difficult.” She blames the abuse and subsequent stress for her two miscarriages.

Kyung-Yoon was also pregnant during her investigation into the scandal. She tells BBC that the abuse she faced often focused on her being pregnant, and how much that scared her. “Something might happen to the baby,” she recalled thinking. “My heart was incredibly lonely and exhausted,” she elaborated, though ultimately concluding, “I have no regrets.”

The court cases against all men involved in the scandal resulted in convictions, according to the BBC. The music idols all received prison time, though the senior police contact who faced charges for protecting those involved ultimately walked free following an acquittal.

“Burning Sun” is available to stream on the BBC iPlayer, the BBC World Service YouTube channel, and will air on BBC News as a series in June.

Photo Credit: Diddy’s Instagram

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs apologizes for assaulting Cassie Ventura after a 2016 video surfaces, but the Los Angeles DA’s office says the assault falls outside the statute of limitations.

Since the video emerged that appeared to show Sean “Diddy” Combs assaulting his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a hotel in 2016, the rapper and business mogul has released his own video apologizing for behavior that he previously denied. But even with a public admission of guilt, the Los Angeles district attorney’s office says the assault falls outside the statute of limitations, meaning Combs will not be charged for it.

In his video, which the 54-year-old posted to Instagram on Sunday, May 19, Diddy addresses the camera directly, saying he makes “no excuses” for his behavior caught on the surveillance video obtained by CNN and released on Friday.

“My behavior on that video is inexcusable,” says Combs. “I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I’m disgusted. I was disgusted then when I did it; I’m disgusted now,” he continues. “But I’m committed to being a better man each and every day. I’m not asking for forgiveness. I’m truly sorry.”

The surveillance video is reportedly from March 5, 2016, and shows Diddy wrapped in a bath towel charging down the hall after Ventura, before throwing her to the ground, kicking her, grabbing her, and dragging her down the hallway. The video also shows him throwing an object that appears to be a vase.

According to CNN, the surveillance footage was confirmed to have been filmed at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles, which is now closed. Notably, this is the same hotel in which Ventura claimed the event occurred in her lawsuit filed in November, in which she accuses Combs of physical and psychological abuse, rape, and sex trafficking.

The surveillance video appears to match Ventura’s account in the now-settled lawsuit; the two parties reached an undisclosed settlement just a day after it was filed. Ventura’s lawsuit stated that Combs had become “extremely intoxicated and punched” her in the face, “giving her a black eye.” The lawsuit says that when Ventura tried to leave while he was sleeping, but Combs awoke and “followed her into the hallway of the hotel while yelling at her,” then “grabbed at her,” and “took glass vases in the hallway and threw them at her.”

Just after the surveillance video surfaced on Friday, but before Combs released his apology video on Sunday, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office issued a statement that Combs would not face charges in connection with the 2016 footage.

“We find the images extremely disturbed and difficult to watch,” said the DA’s office in a statement posted to social media. “If the conduct depicted occurred in 2016, unfortunately we would be unable to charge as the conduct would have occurred beyond the timeline where a crime of assault can be prosecuted.”

Since Ventura’s lawsuit, Diddy has faced numerous lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault. He has systematically denied all the allegations. Still, he is under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security in connection with sex trafficking allegations. The federal investigation has resulted in two of his homes being searched in March.

Photo Credit: CNN

A newly leaked surveillance video reportedly shows Diddy assaulting former girlfriend Cassie in 2016, matching allegations in her now-settled lawsuit.

In a 2016 hotel surveillance video obtained by CNN, a man who appears to be rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs can be seen grabbing, dragging, and kicking a woman who appears to be his former girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie Ventura. While neither individual’s face can be clearly seen, the footage matches allegations in a now-settled lawsuit filed by Ventura in November.

Compiled from multiple camera angles from surveillance footage dated March 5, 2016, the video appears to show the rapper and business mogul with a towel around his waist, chasing a shaken Ventura who tries to escape to an elevator, before he grabs her, throws her to the floor, and kicks her. In addition to retrieving her bags from near the elevator as the woman who appears to be Ventura lies on the ground, the man alleged to be Combs can be seen grabbing an object from a table and throwing it forcefully in her direction.

The incident, according to Ventura’s complaint, took place at the now-closed InterContinental Hotel in Century City, Los Angeles. CNN verified the footage was taken from that location. It matches many of the allegations in Ventura’s complaint.

Cassie Ventura’s filing, which was settled days afterward for an undisclosed amount, cited the altercation as taking place “around March 2016,” when Combs became “extremely intoxicated and punched Ms. Ventura in the face, giving her a black eye.” After he fell asleep, Ventura attempted to escape the hotel room, but Combs awoke and “followed her into the hallway of the hotel while yelling at her.”

“He grabbed at her, and then took glass vases in the hallway and threw them at her, causing glass to crash around them as she ran to the elevator to escape,” read the complaint, which alleges Combs paid the InterContinental Century City Hotel $50,000 for the hallway security footage of the incident.

Cassie Ventura’s lawsuit contained numerous allegations against Combs, including that she was raped in 2018 and subjected to years of repeated physical and psychological abuse throughout the course of their professional and romantic relationship. The filing states she was 19 in when she met a 37-year-old Combs, and their business relationship lasted from 2007 until 2019.

Though Cassie’s lawsuit was promptly settled, Combs has faced five other lawsuits since then, accusing him of similar sexual misconduct and abuse, as well as other illegal activity. He and his legal team have denied these allegations, though a federal investigation into Combs has resulted in raids on his homes in Los Angeles and Miami by the Department of Homeland Security.

Photo Credit: Simon Zhu

YouTube has blocked access to a popular Hong Kong protest anthem after a court order granted a government request to ban the song, “Glory to Hong Kong.”

YouTube confirmed that 32 web links to the song have been geo-blocked and are now unavailable in Hong Kong following the court order. Any attempts to access the video result in the message, “This content is not available on this country domain due to a court order.”

“We are disappointed by the court’s decision but are complying with its removal order by blocking access to the listed videos for viewers in Hong Kong,” a YouTube spokesperson confirms. “We’ll continue to consider our options for an appeal, to promote access to information.”

The “Glory to Hong Kong” anthem was written by a Hong Kong musician in August 2019—becoming a rallying cry for pro-democracy protests in the city. The song contains the phrase “liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times” which is a banned phrase since 2020. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said stopping the dissemination of the song is necessary for Hong Kong “to fulfill its responsibilities of safeguarding national security and the dignity of the national anthem.”

Part of the upset is that “Glory to Hong Kong” has been chosen as the anthem to play for Hong Kong sports teams at international events over the “March of the Volunteers” Chinese national anthem. Hong Kong’s Department of Justice filed a court injunction to seek a ban on broadcasting or distributing the song in June 2023. The injunction was initially rejected, but that was overturned in an appeal in May 2024.

Meanwhile, the Asia Internet Coalition says it is “assessing the implications of the decision.” Spotify, Apple, Amazon, Meta, and Snap. Inc. are members of the coalition—so the ban could also impact these social media services. “We believe that a free and open internet is fundamental to the city’s ambitions to become an international technology and innovation hub,” says Jeff Paine, Managing Director for the Asia Internat Coalition.

Photo Credit: Frank Schwichtenberg / CC by 4.0

Travis Scott and Live Nation have kept their collective nose to the grindstone, settling most of the Astroworld crowd crush lawsuits — but the one involving the youngest victim is now slated to go to trial in September.

One wrongful death lawsuit remains, filed over the 10 attendees killed during the crowd crush incident at Travis Scott’s 2021 Astroworld music festival performance. The lawsuit filed by the family of 9-year-old Ezra Blount, the youngest person killed during the event, has been set for a civil court trial scheduled in September.

On Tuesday, May 14, State District Judge Kristen Hawkins announced the impending trial, with jury selection set to begin on September 10. Should the lawsuit make it to trial rather than reaching a settlement beforehand, it will be the first civil case from Astroworld to go before a jury.

Last week, lawyers announced that the nine other wrongful death lawsuits had been settled out of court. The terms of these settlements remain confidential. Due to a gag order, attorneys are limited in what they can divulge publicly about the remaining case.

Ezra Blount’s family is suing Travis Scott, Live Nation, and other companies and individuals connected to the event, including live streaming partner Apple. Lawyers for the Blount family have asked Judge Hawkins if the trial could be held sooner; Hawkins determined that “various legal and logistical issues made it unlikely” the case could be tried before September.

According to Scott West, an attorney for the Blount family, they still intend to depose Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino before the trial. Live Nation attorneys have fought at every turn against efforts to have Rapino questioned about the festival, asserting he had “no unique knowledge” of the event.

Still, plaintiffs’ attorneys argue that Rapino had a hands-on role in booking Travis Scott for the festival, was uniquely focused on ticket sales and capacity, and sent an email hours after the crowd crush incident saying “if 5 died we could cancel” the festival’s second day. The second day of the festival, of course, was later cancelled.

Hawkins also scheduled the first trial related to the injury cases for October 15, which will focus on seven injury cases. Around 2,400 injury cases filed after the Astroworld crowd crush still remain pending. Altogether, over 4,000 plaintiffs filed hundreds of lawsuits after the event.

Last year, a grand jury declined to indict Scott, along with five others connected to the festival, following a police investigation.

Photo Credit: Tingey Law Firm

Rodney Jones’ lawyer is dismissing allegations made against UMG CEO Lucian Grainge, UMG Recordings, and Motown Records. The legal filing was filed by Jones’ attorney, Tyrone Blackburn.

The filing asks the court to dismiss all claims and strike all allegations made against Lucian Charles Grainge, Motown Records, and UMG Recordings, Inc. A second amended complaint removes these entities with prejudice—meaning they cannot be brought forth again.

“Based on my examination of all the papers submitted in support of both motions to dismiss, which addressed the issues I had, I have concluded that there is no legal basis for the claims and allegations that were made against the UMG Defendants,” Blackburn declares in the filing. “As such, I have determined that the proper course of action is for all of the claims and all of the allegations to be withdrawn immediately.”

The Rodney Jones lawsuit previously alleged that Lucian Grainge aided Diddy in keeping his alleged misconduct under the radar. Diddy is accused of sexual assault, sex trafficking, and more—though the rap mogul has denied all of these claims.

Meanwhile, UMG’s lead attorney Donald Zakarin has agreed that the accusations against his clients should be dropped and sharply criticized Blackburn for bringing the claims in the first place.

“As we have repeatedly said from our very first communication with counsel for the plaintiff on March 4, there was no basis, not legal and not factual, for the claims and accusations that were alleged,” Zakarin writes. “The UMG defendants should have never been named in any of these complaints and we should never have been required to make motions to dismiss the complaints in this action.”

Zakarin said in his original filing to dismiss these claims that they are “lacking in any legally cognizable basis” and threatened to bring legal action against Blackburn should the claims not be withdrawn.

Photo Credit: Audio Engineering Society (Neil Portnow)

A Jane Doe who filed a sexual assault lawsuit against former Grammys chief Neil Portnow has asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit. She is afraid her identity will be revealed if the lawsuit goes forward.

The lawsuit was filed anonymously in November 2023 in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan. The suit arrived at the 11th-hour in a legal window closing for civil lawsuits to be brought forth for sexual assault cases in New York. The case was removed to federal court in January 2024.

Mr. Portnow’s lawyers requested the woman use her real name in the case days earlier. In her letter to Judge Analisa Torres, the woman says she is concerned about her identity being revealed and notes a dispute with her lawyers. “The circumstances surrounding this case have created a genuine concern for my safety, and emotional well-being,” the letter to the judge reads. “Dismissing the case would alleviate this fear and allow me to move forward without unnecessary risks.”

She writes that her lawyers filing “did not accurately reflect my position.” On May 7, her lawyer Jeffrey R. Anderson filed a motion to withdraw as her counsel. Anderson said the woman submitted the letter to the judge without his knowledge and that the “attorney-client relationship has deteriorated beyond repair.”

The Jane Done is only identified in the initial lawsuit as a “musician from outside the United States.” She alleges she met Mr. Portnow—then serving as CEO of the Recording Academy—at a Grammy event in 2018. The complaint alleges Portnow invited her to a Manhattan hotel room in June 2018, giving her wine. She says she lost consciousness while in his presence and when she awoke, she found Portnow “forcibly” penetrating her.

The woman also named the Recording Academy as a defendant in her initial lawsuit, saying the organization “should have known of Portnow’s sexually assaultive behavior towards women” and alleged the organization “aided and abetted Portnow’s conduct to protect their reputations.” Both Neil Portnow and the Recording Academy denied the allegations in the lawsuit.

Photo Credit: Charito Yap for The Come Up Show / CC by 2.0

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and his legal team file a motion to dismiss claims dating back to 1991 in a sexual assault case against him, asserting he cannot be charged under laws that didn’t yet exist at the time of the alleged incident.

That lawsuit, filed by Joi Dickerson-Neal in November, accuses Sean “Diddy” Combs of drugging and raping her when she was a college student in 1991, and subsequently making “revenge porn” of her. According to the new documents, Combs’ team claims she can’t sue him for several of her six causes of action against him — because the relevant laws didn’t yet exist when he allegedly assaulted her.

Namely, Dickerson-Neal is suing the music mogul under the New York Services for Victims of Human Trafficking Law, which was not in effect until 2007, 16 years after the incident is said to have taken place. Further, Diddy is contesting her claims under the New York State Revenge Porn Law, codified in 2019, 2000’s New York City Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law, and the 2016 NYC Revenge Porn Law.

Of course, Diddy’s team denies all Dickerson-Neal’s allegations — and those in all the other sexual assault lawsuits against him — calling the incident fictitious and a “money grab.”

But it’s worth noting that Combs’ lawyers aren’t applying the same statute of limitations argument against the remaining two counts in Dickerson-Neal’s filing. Those counts, for assault and battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress, don’t rely on specific statutes and the timing of those statutes’ coming into law therefore do not apply to those claims.

Dickerson-Neal’s filing names Bad Boy Records and Bad Boy Entertainment as codefendants alongside Combs himself — but his lawyers say they also cannot be sued for the aforementioned counts, as they too did not yet exist in 1991.

In January 1991, while on a school break as a student at Syracuse University, Dickerson-Neal says she “reluctantly agreed” to dinner with Combs. There, the suit claims, he “intentionally drugged” her by spiking her drink while she was in the restroom, “resulting in her being in a physical state where she could not independently stand or walk.”

Her filing says Combs videotaped the 1991 assault and distributed that tape to others in the music industry, causing “severe harm to Ms. Dickerson-Neals reputation, career prospects, and emotional well-being.” She is requesting a trial by jury.

Meanwhile, the Bad Boy Records founder is facing multiple sexual assault lawsuits while under investigation by multiple agencies for alleged sex trafficking and assault. Last month, Homeland Security Investigations raided Combs’ Los Angeles and Miami homes in connection with ongoing investigations.

Photo Credit: Henry Chen

A new report suggests China could retaliate following President Joe Biden signing into law legislation that would force the sale of TikTok—or ban the app.

President Biden signed the legislation into law last week alongside a military aid package for Ukraine and Israel. The bill gives ByteDance around nine months to a year to divest from TikTok fully, or the app will be banned in the United States.

“If the United States clings obstinately to its course, China will take resolute and forceful steps to firmly defend its own security and development interests,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said. Jian did not elaborate on what those ‘forceful steps’ may be, but the issue may come to a head over the United States’ close ties to Taiwan.

Growing threats from Beijing has resulted in Taiwan strengthening its defenses, though China says it seeks ‘peaceful reunification’ with the island. China has stepped up military activities around Taiwan since then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi visited the island in August 2022. The United States is Taiwan’s primary international backer and supplier of arms.

Meanwhile, Taiwan’s government—which rejects China’s sovereignty claims — has welcomed the new legislation saying it will maintain security in the region.

For now, TikTok remains available in the United States and the ByteDance legal challenge to this could stretch out into several years. It’s also worth noting that a total ban of the app will be nearly impossible to achieve and mostly relies on controlling access to the TikTok app rather than the TikTok website.

“The TikTok bill relies heavily on the control that Apple and Google maintain over their smartphone platforms because the bill’s primary mechanism is to direct Apple and Google to stop allowing the app on their respective app stores,” adds Dean Ball, a researcher with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. “Such a mechanism might be much less effective in the world envisioned by many advocates of antitrust and aggressive regulation against the large tech firms.”

While Apple users may not be able to ‘sideload’ the TikTok app, Android users can certainly take that risk. It’s also worth noting that should a total ban be enacted in the United States, downloading a VPN and changing the origin country to Canada or Mexico would effectively bypass that ban.

Photo Credit: Miami-Dade Corrections

Diddy’s alleged drug mule Brendan Paul pleads not guilty as the music mogul remains untouched, while his legal team focuses on the character of accuser Lil Rod.

Brendan Paul, the 25-year-old former Syracuse University basketball player accused of serving as a “drug mule” for music and business mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, was formally arraigned in a Miami-Dade County courtroom this week. Attorneys filed a felony cocaine possession charge against Paul, whose attorney Brian Bieber entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. A possession of controlled substance charge against him was dropped.

Paul was arrested last month after being taken into custody at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport for carrying both cocaine and cannabis edibles, said Miami-Dade Police in an arrest affidavit. He posted bond and was released on March 26, a day after his arrest.

At the time, video circulated of Diddy pacing around the same airport that day while Homeland Security agents raided his homes in Miami Beach and Los Angeles in connection with an ongoing sex trafficking probe. Combs’ attorney has called the raids an “unprecedented ambush,” asserting his client is innocent and “will continue to fight every single day to clear his name.”

Still, a felony drug charge for Paul could spell trouble for the Bad Boy mogul. As the investigation into Combs is ongoing, officials are now in the perfect position to offer Paul a deal, which could result in charges reduced or dropped in exchange for cooperation in the case.

Meanwhile, Sean Combs’ legal team is focused on the character of producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Smith, who is suing the rapper for $30 million with allegations that he was forced to engage in sex acts, was drugged, and witnessed countless illegal activity while the two worked together. They posit that his history of “troubling arrests and convictions” make him an unreliable witness.

Documents reveal that Smith was charged with domestic assault in 2009 and 2014, as well as receiving a misdemeanor sexual assault charge in 2005. Those charges were all dismissed — but he was convicted of reckless homicide in 2003.

Lil Rod’s attorney Tyrone Blackburn — whose own character has been called into question by Combs’ team — elaborated on that conviction, which occurred when the producer was 17 years old.

“He was driving a vehicle with his cousin in the passenger seat. The police pulled him over, but he was afraid and drove off,” said Blackburn. “It was pretty typical behavior for a young black boy in Chicago when pulled over by the police. As a result, he totaled the vehicle, and his cousin, who was his best friend, died.”

“He has to live with the guilt of the death of his best friend and family member for the rest of his life,” Blackburn continued. “But don’t let that stop you from running the story and getting your clicks.”

Blackburn also asserted that Combs’ legal team “can do nothing to distract from the fact that he will be indicted soon.”

Photo Credit: Astroworld

The judge overseeing the Astroworld civil litigation has ruled in Drake’s favor in his request to be dismissed from the lawsuit — but Travis Scott and Apple remain on the hook despite similar dismissal requests.

Two and a half years ago, during the 2021 edition of Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival, 10 people were killed in a crowd crush disaster, leading to heightened discussions surrounding crowd safety and emergency protocol for live experiences. Legal proceedings abound for Travis Scott and several companies that promoted and ran the festival, including Apple Inc. But Drake, who appeared on stage alongside Travis during the show, has recently been dismissed from the impending civil proceedings.

Drake was initially named as a defendant in some of the lawsuits filed against Travis Scott and the festival organizers and promoters. Even as the dozens of filings were combined into one lawsuit, Drake’s name carried over as a defendant — but now the presiding Harris County judge, Judge Kristen Hawkins, has granted Drake’s request for removal from all claims in the lawsuit.

Travis Scott filed a similar request, which Judge Hawkins denied. Both artists claimed that, as performers, safety measures were not their responsibility. But Drake’s position as a “guest” rather than the star performer apparently made a big difference; his request was granted, while Travis’ — and even Apple’s similar request — were not.

Besides Drake, Judge Hawkins also dismissed Travis Scott’s record label, Epic Records, from the lawsuit, as well as several other companies. Those who remain as defendants in the lawsuit include Travis Scott’s imprint Cactus Jack Enterprises, LeFlame Enterprises, Front Gate Ticketing Solutions, Apex Security Group, Apple Inc., Sascha Stone Guttfreund, Valle Services, and Valle Security Texas.

Last summer, a Harris County grand jury decided that Travis Scott would not face criminal charges over the tragedy, but the civil litigation against him remains and is anticipated to begin this May. Notably, the final police report on the incident, released a month after the grand jury’s decision, seemed to place the majority of the blame for the concert continuing on Travis and his team.

Hundreds of people were injured in the Astroworld incident, while 10 people — including a nine-year-old child — were killed.

Photo Credit: Metro Nashville Police Department

Country superstar Morgan Wallen was arrested by Nashville police over the weekend. The singer allegedly threw a chair from a bar rooftop on Broadway. Here’s the latest.

According to the officer’s report, they were standing in front of Chiefs Bar on Broadway when a chair came from above and hit the street—landing feet away from the officers. Officers approached security to investigate the incident, with staff of the bar reporting Morgan Wallen was responsible for tossing the chair over from the roof.

Police officers asked to review security footage of the rooftop bar, which showed Wallen lunging to grab the chair and then flinging it off the rooftop. Witnesses of the incident told officers they saw Wallen “pick up the chair, throw it over him, laughing afterward.”

Morgan Wallen was arrested and charged with three counts of reckless endangerment for the two officers who were in the vicinity and one count for being a danger to the public. Wallen was also charged with disorderly conduct and booked into the Nashville Metro jail early Monday morning. The country star was released a few hours later.

Following the incident, Wallen’s attorney Worrick Robinson provided a brief statement about the incident. “At 10:53 pm Sunday evening Morgan Wallen was arrested in downtown Nashville for reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct. He is cooperating fully with authorities.”

Chiefs is owned by Eric Church and celebrated its opening on April 5. The six-story bar will face competition soon, as Wallen himself has a partnership for his own six-story live music venue dubbed ‘This Bar and Tennessee Kitchen’ in downtown Nashville just two blocks from the Chiefs location.

Eric Church kicked off the grand-opening of his new bar with a 19-date residency at one of the music venues inside. Perhaps Wallen will do the same in 2024 with his bar—but hopefully Church won’t pull a Wallen to commemorate the event.

Photo Credit: Maria Oswalt

Chinese company ByteDance has left the TikTok U.S. team build its own response to the potential ban weaving its way through Congress. Here’s the latest.

Unlike the potential ban TikTok faced under the Trump administration in 2020, ByteDance is remaining hands-off in its approach. Instead, TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi has been left to lead the efforts—while TikTok rallies its uses to oppose the ban. ByteDance was directly involved in negotiations to prevent the ban in 2020. At the time, it poached Kevin Mayer from The Walt Disney Company to serve as TikTok CEO—but Mayer departed after just three months.

Now under the guidance of Chew, the TikTok U.S. team is pushing back against the bill that would seek to force ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a ban in the U.S. So far, ByteDance’s only direct response to the potential TikTok ban is to deny a Wall Street Journal report that suggested company Co-Founder Zhang Yiming had discussed a potential sale of TikTok to interested buyers.

The TikTok U.S. team has purchased several television ads this week, while also promoting the hashtag #KeepTikTok to its users. The campaign involves several TikTok influencers and merchants who use the app for their livelihood and how a potential ban may impact them.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill requiring ByteDance to divest from TikTok. Now the legislation will square-off for debate in the Senate. TikTok has spent more than $100,000 in ads on Meta’s platforms Facebook and Instagram to get the word out about the legislation.

Last month, TikTok sent push notifications to all of its users asking them to contact lawmakers and ask them to vote against any bill that would ban TikTok. While that heavy-handed effort appears to have worked, it also resulted in lawmakers receiving death threats. The Senate must pass their own version of the ‘TikTok ban’ bill, but there is currently no time line for that legislation.

Meanwhile, Chinese business news publication Caixin says ByteDance is not seeking to sell TikTok. “It would be impossible for ByteDance to sell TikTok within 180 days” and it would be impossible for founder Zhang to divest,” Caixin reported, citing multiple sources familiar with ByteDance’s position. Regulations passed in China in 2020 would require a government review of the TikTok algorithms before any sale—a measure which was passed in response to the Trump administration’s proposed TikTok ban.

Photo Credit: Colin Lloyd

The attorney who filed one of the several sexual abuse lawsuits against Diddy is facing serious professional conduct allegations after a federal judge criticized him for filing suits to ‘embarrass defendants’ with ‘salacious allegations’ and ‘garner media attention.’

Tyrone Blackburn, the lead attorney representing producer Rodney Jones in a sexual abuse lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs, is getting raked over the coals as a federal judge in another case criticized him for filing lawsuits with “salacious allegations” to “embarrass defendants.” Judge Denise Cote cited Blackburn’s conduct in five different lawsuits, citing what she called “glaring deficiencies” in each of those cases.

Judge Cote filed an order in a legal malpractice lawsuit Blackburn filed last year, and referred him to the grievance committee for the Southern District of New York for “such action as it deems appropriate,” calling his submissions to the court “rife with disturbing allegations” to “garner media attention” and “pressure defendants to settle quickly.”

“Not sure how this is at all relevant to Rodney Jones’ case, or any other case I have,” said Blackburn in an email to Billboard on April 4. “This will not have any impact on my ability to proceed in Mr. Jones’ case. Although Judge Cote’s decision was a referral to the SDNY’s grievance committee, and not a sanction, I plan on appealing the decision.”

Nevertheless, attorneys for Universal Music Group has been quick to jump in following Judge Cote’s ruling, pointing out that Jones’ lawsuit incorrectly names several prominent industry figures as members of Combs’ coterie — specifically, UMG CEO Lucian Grainge and former Motown CEO Ethiopia Habtemariam.

This, they argue, violates federal Rule 11, which requires attorneys to make a “reasonable inquiry” into allegations they file. Judge Cote also cited Rule 11 in her ruling against Blackburn.

Attorneys for Grainge (and Combs) have vehemently denied all allegations.

It remains unclear how long a case against Blackburn by the grievance committee would take, or what disciplinary action would be taken. Regardless, shots aimed at Blackburn’s credibility could significantly alter the trajectory of Jones’ lawsuit against Combs.

Photo Credit: Andy Moran / CC by 2.0

President Biden held a fundraiser in New York City at Radio City Music Music Hall that featured former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. The event was moderated by Stephen Colbert and featured a performance from Lizzo—who is embroiled in her own scandal involving ex-dancers.

Other musicians who performed at the DNC fundraising event include Queen Latifah, Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo, and Lea Michele. Tickets for the event cost between $250 and $500,000, with more than 5,000 people expected to attend. Following the record-setting fundraising event, an attorney for Lizzo’s former dancers released a statement criticizing her performance.

“It’s shameful that Lizzo would be chosen to headline an event like this amid such egregious allegations,” attorney Ron Zambrano told NewsNation. “Without getting into the politics, I can’t imagine why anyone would want Lizzo representing them in any way, given her reprehensible behavior. It’s just a terrible look.”

A trio of backup dancers for the singer filed a sexual harassment lawsuit in August 2023 against Lizzo. Arianna Davis, Noelle Rodriguez, and Crystal Williams allege the dancer and her production company created a “hostile, abusive work environment” that made their “working conditions intolerable.”

They also allege that Lizzo pressured one of them to touch a nude performer at a strip club in Amsterdam. Another allegation includes Lizzo subjecting the group to “excruciating” auditions following accusations that the trio drank on the job.

Meanwhile, Lizzo’s attorneys argue that the dancers were fired with due cause for poor conduct after showing up drunk to work. “Plaintiffs missed flights, arrived late and hungover to rehearsals and drunk to performances, entered into consensual sexual relationships with male crew members on tour, exhibited a rapid decline in the quality of their dancing and professionalism, and ultimately conspired to make and disseminate an unauthorized recording of a creative meeting with Lizzo and the dance cast,” an October 2023 court filing reads.

Photo Credit: Daphne Joy’s Instagram

Producer Rodney Jones, who filed a sexual assault lawsuit against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, might face a defamation lawsuit from Daphne Joy, 50 Cent’s ex-partner, over allegations that she was a sex worker paid by Combs.

Daphne Joy, 50 Cent’s ex-partner and the mother of his 12-year-old son, Sire, denied allegations she was a sex worker paid by Sean “Diddy” Combs in a sex trafficking lawsuit filed against Combs by producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones.

The lawsuit against Combs led to a federal raid on two of his properties this week; the increased media scrutiny surrounding the lawsuit led Joy to refute Jones’ allegations in a series of Instagram posts.

“I am deeply hurt by the lies in Rodney Jones’ lawsuit,” writes Joy in the first of two posts consisting of only text. “The claim that I am a sex worker is 100% false and character assassination. I am retaining and attorney to explore all legal remedies against both Rodney and his attorney.”

The second post directly addressed Joy’s ex, 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis James Jackson, regarding jokes he posted online about the ongoing Diddy lawsuits and investigation.

“Everything is a joke to you until our safety is compromised, which is happening now. You are wreaking real havoc, frenzy, and chaos onto people’s lives. How would [you] feel if Sire was the one in handcuffs? For nothing,” Joy writes, explaining that she and her son moved to New York to be closer to Jackson, whom she asserts oppressed, raped, and physically abused her.

“You have permanently damaged the last hope I had for you as a father to preserve our family with these last and final false claims made against me. You have broken our hearts for the last and final time.”

In a since-deleted Instagram Story, Joy posted a video of herself crying, captioned, “I wouldn’t wish this on any woman. God hears me, and that’s all that matters.”

Jones’ lawsuit, initially filed in February and recently amended to include actor Cuba Gooding, Jr. as a defendant, claims that “Combs bragged about having several women on a monthly stipend,” allegedly including Joy, who “were paid a monthly fee to work” for Combs, receiving payment “via wire” through his imprint, Love Records.

Photo Credit: Rafael Amado Deras / CC by 2.0

The male producer who sued Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs for sexual assault and harassment has added actor Cuba Gooding, Jr. to the list of defendants.

Music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, who sued Sean “Diddy” Combs for sexual assault and harassment in February, has amended his lawsuit to include actor Cuba Gooding Jr. as a defendant. Gooding was previously named in the lawsuit, but was not counted among the list of defendants.

Jones initially filed his lawsuit on February 26, claiming that Gooding was among those who sexually harassed and assaulted him on Combs’ yacht. The allegations against Gooding haven’t been amended within the complaint, but as of March 25 — the same day two of Combs’ properties were raided by Homeland Security amid an ongoing sex trafficking investigation — Gooding is now named as a defendant.

A producer on Combs’ latest album, Jones alleges that Combs and several associates engaged in illicit activity, including procuring and taking drugs, and soliciting sex workers, some of whom were underage. Jones’ lawsuit accuses Combs of “grooming him to pass off to his friends,” one of whom was allegedly Gooding, who is said to have sexually harassed and assaulted him.

The amended lawsuit lists Gooding as a co-defendant alongside Combs, Combs’ adult son Justin, their Love Records imprint, Motown Records, and Universal Music Group.

After federal agents raided Combs’ properties in Miami and Los Angeles, details have emerged from sources close to the matter, including that firearms were found at both properties, and Homeland Security Investigations seized Combs’ phones in Miami before he departed for a trip to the Caribbean.

Details remain relatively sparse, but reports claim the raid was connected to the allegations of sex trafficking and sexual assault, as well as the solicitation and distribution of illegal firearms and narcotics, which have emerged in the several lawsuits filed against Combs in recent months. Three women and one man have been interviewed by federal agents in Manhattan in connection to the investigation, and several people were questioned outside Combs’ properties, including two of his adult sons.

A representative for Homeland Security Investigations told media outlets that they had “executed law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation,” and would “provide further information as it becomes available.”

Attorneys for Combs have called the raids on his properties “a gross overuse of military-level force,” and there was “no excuse for the excessive show of force and hostility,” continuing to brand the investigation as a “witch hunt.”

Photo Credit: The Come Up Show / CC by 2.0

Travis Scott has scored a legal victory in another Astroworld lawsuit brought forth by Sony Music partner Ceremony of Roses. Here’s the latest.

Ceremony of Roses (CoR) was contracted to provide various attractions and carnival games during the Astroworld festival. CoR covered the costs of providing the entertainment with a deal made with Live Nation allowing the organizer to recoup money spent from payments made by festival-goers to access those amusement rides. Profits from the endeavor were to be split 50/50.

After ten people died and hundreds more were injured during a crowd crush event on the first day of the festival—the whole thing was shut down. As a result, Ceremony of Roses filed a lawsuit arguing that Scott’s actions left it unable to recoup costs related to providing the amusements for Astroworld.

“At the very minimum, defendants owed CoR a duty to exercise ordinary care in maintaining a safe and secure environment for CoR’s business activities and festival attendees,” the lawsuit argued. “Defendants negligently and willfully breached this duty in numerous aspects.” This filing doesn’t specify compensation, but it does state the company incurred $700,000 in expenses for setting up during the festival.

The Blast obtained documents that show the company wanted the “entire action of all parties and all causes of action” dismissed from court. That would include all claims and counterclaims filed by all parties involved in the lawsuit. CoR lawyers asked for the courts to dismiss the lawsuit without prejudice—which means the same suit could be brought again in the future.

Thus concludes one of hundreds of lawsuits that were filed in the wake of the Astroworld tragedy in 2021. Most lawsuits were filed by those who were injured or by families of victims who died during the crowd crush event.

Another lawsuit involves festival-goers who purchased a ‘magic money’ digital currency to be used at the Astroworld Festival in 2021. After the festival was closed, these festival-goers launched a class action lawsuit for refunds for those digital dollars. Ceremony of Roses was named as a defendant in this lawsuit as the ‘magic money’ could be spent at its amusement park.

Photo Credit: Alexander Vaughn / CC by 2.0

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ current whereabouts are unknown following a coordinated federal raid on his Los Angeles and Miami homes amid multiple sexual assault lawsuits.

Federal agents raided the East and West Coast homes of rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs on Monday, but the man himself has been difficult to track down. The Bad Boy Records founder’s private jet, tracked by various media outlets during the raid, headed to Antigua, leaving many to assume he was deliberately fleeing the country. But Combs ended up not being onboard — so where is he?

Among those possibly kept for questioning during the raids include Diddy’s sons, 30-year-old Justin Combs and 25-year-old Christian “King” Combs. Multiple reports state that federal agents questioned several people just outside a home owned by Combs’ production company in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Holmby Hills. The music mogul was not present at either of the raid locations.

During the raids, Combs’ private jet, LoveAir LLC, reportedly departed from the Sacramento Executive Airport on the evening of March 24, landing at Palm Springs International Airport approximately an hour later. Another hour passed before the flight left Palm Springs, arriving at the Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles at around 8 PM. At 9 AM the next morning, the flight departed Van Nuys and landed in Antigua.

Notably, flight tracking of the aircraft has since been made unavailable for public viewing.

Following the raids on his homes, Combs was seen outside the Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport, according to video that showed him “pacing back and forth,” and officials reportedly seized his phones before he departed for the Caribbean.

Some of his associates were also stopped by officials; 25-year-old Brendan Paul, a known Combs associate recently accused in a lawsuit of being his “drug mule,” was taken into custody by Miami-Dade police working alongside Homeland Security agents.

The exact nature of the raid on Combs’ residences in Miami and Los Angeles is unclear. Homeland Security’s involvement suggests a widespread criminal investigation, presumably into allegations of federal sex trafficking following numerous civil lawsuits filed against him. But it isn’t yet known whether the coordinated raids were related to any of the allegations raised in those lawsuits.

It also isn’t yet clear whether Paul’s arrest is connected to the wider investigation into Combs. Arresting officers claim Paul had “contraband inside his personal travel bags; […] the suspect cocaine was located and tested.” Paul was taken to Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami, where he is being held on two $2,500 bonds for charges of cocaine possession and possession of a controlled substance.

Paul was alleged to be a longtime “drug mule” for Combs in a lawsuit filed by Rodney Jones, the latest to accuse Combs of sexual assault and harassment. Among his claims, Jones says he witnessed Paul “acquire and distribute” drugs, including “ecstasy, cocaine, GHB, ketamine, marijuana, mushrooms, and tuci” to Combs and associates, who then “[packed] these substances in their carry-on luggage and going through TSA.”

Perhaps the most damning evidence is contained in the hundreds of hours of video and audio footage Jones’ lawsuit alleges he accrued during his time with Combs. Whether that lawsuit — or the handful of others against him over the past several months — bears any effect on the apparent federal investigation into Combs remains to be seen.

Diddy has denied any wrongdoing in each case. Nevertheless, he stepped down from his chairmanship of Revolt TV, the media company he founded, and has since sold the remainder of his ownership to an as-yet unknown buyer. Earlier this year, liquor giant Diageo reached a private settlement with Combs, cutting him loose from their DeLeón Tequila and Cîroc Vodka brands.

Photo Credit: Ninja Tune

Ninja Tune CEO Adrian Kemp steps back from his position amid an internal investigation into as yet unspecified allegations made against him.

The London-based independent label confirmed on Thursday (March 21) that a third-party HR company will conduct an investigation into allegations against Adrian Kemp, the nature of which remains unspecified. In the meantime, Kemp — who “vehemently denies” the claims against him — is stepping back from his duties as CEO amid the pending investigation.

In the interim, Samantha Sissons, Head of Marketing, and Tess Kendall, Head of Marketing Operations, will step into the lead role at Ninja Tune. According to an internal statement to staff, the label says that Kemp will “continue to work in support of Sam and Tess but with a lower profile.” That same statement also explained that the “outcome of the investigation will be made available upon completion subject to any legal barriers.”

Adrian Kemp has worked at the label for over 20 years. He became Director of Ninja Tune in April 2017 and was appointed to CEO in September that same year. The company is headquartered in London with a satellite office in Los Angeles.

Founded in 1990 by electronic duo Coldcut (Matt Black and Jonathan More), Ninja Tune has remained a successful independent dance music label. The label’s roster includes EDM mainstays like Bonobo, Helena Hauff, and Kelis.

Most recently, Ninja Tune signed a deal with electronic group Metronomy, who released their “experimental new single” on the label earlier this month. The track, “Nice Town,” is a collaboration with Houston artist Pan Amsterdam, described as “a collaboration with New York by way of […] Pan Amsterdam.” It’s the band’s first new music since their collaborative Posse EP Volume 1.

“It feels like a full circle moment,” says Metronomy lead and founder Joe Mount of the group’s signing with Ninja Tune. “With Ninja Tune, they are a label who have gone from strength to strength at a time when it’s pretty hard to do that, and it’s something I think can also be said of Metronomy.”

Photo Credit: Kortney Musselman

A Jane Doe who accused country singer Jimmie Allen of sexual assault has agreed to dismiss her lawsuit against him, but another sexual assault case still looms.

Jimmie Allen’s former manager — an unnamed “Jane Doe” — who accused the country singer of sexually assaulting her, has agreed to dismiss her lawsuit less than a year after initially filing it on May 11. At the same time, in court documents filed on Thursday (March 14), Allen agreed to drop his countersuit against the woman in which he accused her of defamation.

“FeganScott can confirm that Jane Doe and Jimmie Allen have reached a mutual accord as to Plaintiff’s claims and Mr. Allen’s counterclaims and have agreed to dismiss them,” Jane Doe’s attorney, Beth Fegan of law firm FeganScott, told Billboard. “The decision reflects only that both parties desire to move past litigation.”

Despite the charges against Allen being dropped, the case will move forward against management firm Wide Open Music and founder Ash Bowers, where the Jane Doe plaintiff was employed as Allen’s day-to-day manager. The plaintiff claims that neither Bowers nor Wide Open did their part to protect her from Allen and his abusive behavior, instead firing her when she brought it up to her employers.

“Plaintiff expressed in words and actions that Jimmie Allen’s conduct was unwelcome, including pushing him away, sitting where he could not reach her, telling him she was uncomfortable, and ‘no,’ and crying uncontrollably,” wrote attorneys for Jane Doe. “Allen made clear that Plaintiff’s job was dependent on her staying silent about his conduct.”

But Allen’s legal troubles are far from over, as he still faces another sexual assault lawsuit from another Jane Doe. That case, filed a month later than the first one on June 9, accused the singer of assaulting a woman in a Las Vegas hotel room and secretly recording it. Allen has denied all allegations against him, filing a countersuit in both cases, citing defamation.

Photo Credit: Alexander Vaughn / CC by 2.0

Court paperwork shows Diddy quickly settling a sexual assault case from a male producer — but the federal court might walk this one back.

An official court docket update on Wednesday (March 13th) suggests that the sexual assault case against Sean “Diddy” Combs by producer Rodney Jones had reached a settlement — though it’s unclear if the settlement is moving forward.

The federal New York court’s docket update said that not only had the two parties reached a settlement, but that they appeared for a video conference on Wednesday and a draft of their agreement would be submitted by next week. That would follow a similarly-rapid settlement in an earlier Diddy sexual assault case involving Cassie.

Just one problem: according to a report by TMZ, none of this is true, and results from apparent clerical error. Indeed, that is now being reflected in the updated docket.

Before the issue was corrected, an indicator that things weren’t as they seemed stemmed from the fact that the judge listed on the docket for the case was not the same one who was assigned. But by Friday, March 15th, the court docket for the case had since been wiped of any mention of a settlement.

Rodney Jones, a producer on Diddy’s 2023 “Love” album, accuses the rapper and business mogul of sexual assault and harassment from September 2022 to November 2023. While working on the project and living and traveling alongside Diddy, Jones alleges that he was the victim of “constant unsolicited and unauthorized groping and touching of his anus by Mr. Combs,” and that he and his adult son were made to procure sex workers for parties at Diddy’s behest.

Perhaps the most damning assertion is Jones’ claim that he has “hours” of video and audio of Combs and his staff “engaging in serious illegal activity,” including “providing laced alcoholic beverages to minors and sex workers.” Jones is suing for $30 million.

To date, the only sexual assault lawsuit against him in which Diddy has reached a settlement remains the one filed by his ex-girlfriend, singer Cassie Ventura. That federal lawsuit was settled only a day after Cassie filed it, in which she accuses Diddy of abuse and rape over the course of their relationship. Diddy continues to deny all allegations against him.

Photo Credit: Solen Feyissa

The FCC commissioner calls TikTok a “clear and present danger” and a “serious threat” to US national security, ahead of the critical congressional vote on legislation which could lead to a TikTok ban.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) commissioner Brendan Carr said in a recent interview that TikTok “presents a clear and present danger to US national security” in a categorically different way than any other social media company.

Among his many concerns, several of which he has cited previously, Carr claimed that users’ biometrics, browsing history, keystroke patterns, location data, and other sensitive information could already have been accessed “for nefarious purposes” in Beijing. Carr explained that the version of the app available in China differs significantly from the US version, which is “concerning” from both a foreign influence and espionage perspective.

“I’ve got my fair share of concerns with other big tech companies, but TikTok’s different,” said Carr, who added that if TikTok continues to be “beholden” to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), there is no way to be certain the company can be trusted to stop “bad actors” from accessing US user data.

“This bill will definitively resolve the serious national security threat from TikTok by requiring them to divest. We do that on occasion with other applications; we’ve done it successfully. So the actual technical […] implementation of it is less of a problem than getting this policy cut right,” Carr continued.

The commissioner has expressed his support for The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, for which a classified briefing was held today (March 12). The act would require that TikTok be divested from the Beijing-based ByteDance, or other China-based companies, within 180 days.

Failure to do so will see the platform banned from US web hosting services and app stores. The impending congressional vote comes on the heels of the House Energy and Commerce Committee voting unanimously to pass the bill, for which President Biden has also voiced his support.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson from TikTok has told the media that the bill is “an outright ban of TikTok,no matter how much the authors try to disguise it,” claiming the legislation would violate Americans’ First Amendment rights. Carr argues that the legislation poses no First Amendment threat, as long as it focuses on TikTok’s “conduct” in the context of potential national security threats.

Photo Credit: Tingey Law

The judge in the Diddy ‘gang rape’ lawsuit rules that the plaintiff cannot remain anonymous, preventing the case from moving forward unless the unnamed woman reveals her identity.

A federal judge ruled Thursday (February 29) that the lawsuit filed against Sean “Diddy” Combs accusing him of sex trafficking and gang rape cannot move forward unless the unnamed plaintiff reveals her identity.

Judge Jessica G.L. Clarke acknowledged that disclosing her identity could “have a significant impact” on the accuser due to the “graphic and disturbing allegations in this case,” but determined that the woman had “failed to prove” that she could proceed anonymously.

“While the court does not take Plaintiff’s concerns lightly, the Court cannot rely on generalized, uncorroborated claims that disclosure would harm Plaintiff to justify her anonymity,” wrote Judge Clarke, citing previous lawsuits against Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey in which Jane Doe and John Doe accusers were denied anonymity, stating that cases allowed to proceed under a pseudonym were “the exception and not the rule.”

Still, the ruling will not take immediate effect, and the accuser will not be revealed until after the judge rules on Combs’ pending request to dismiss the lawsuit — but it isn’t clear when that ruling will be. Should the case continue, the anonymous accuser will be forced to reveal her identity.

The unnamed Jane Doe alleges in the filing that Combs and former Bad Boy Records president Harve Pierre “plied her with drugs and alcohol” before taking turns raping her in a recording studio in Manhattan when she was a teenager. She has argued that media attention would result in renewed trauma should she be forced to reveal her identity, while Diddy’s attorneys have argued the opposite.

Meanwhile, Combs himself has denied the allegations, as well as the many others raised against him in numerous sexual assault lawsuits in recent months. Those lawsuits — and many others filed against other celebrities — come as the result of a piece of New York State legislature enabling victims an additional window of time who would otherwise be barred from suing due to the statute of limitations.

Photo Credit: grilled cheese / CC by 2.0

The Donna Summer estate has sued rappers Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign for the unauthorized use of her song “I Feel Love” on the Vultures 1 album.

A sample of the 1977 song appears in the Kanye/Ty Dolla $ign song “Good (Don’t Die),” which the Donna Summer estate says was used without permission. “Kanye West… asked permission to use Donna Summer’s song ‘I Feel Love,’ he was denied, he changed the words, had someone re-sing it or used AI but it’s ‘I Feel Love’—copyright infringement!” a statement from the estate appeared on Instagram.

Both Ozzy Osbourne and Nicki Minaj took to social media to say they refused to authorize samples of their works on the album. Ozzy’s protest came after a sample of “Iron Man” was used without his permission during a listening party for the album.

Now the Donna Summer estate has taken to the courts with a lawsuit alleging copyright infringement. The suit was filed in a federal court in Los Angeles by Donna Summer’s husband, Bruce Sudano as the executor of the estate. Donna Summer passed away at age 63 in 2012. The suit names Kanye West, Ty Dolla $ign, Yeezy Record Label, LLC, YZY Snd, and 10 Does as defendants.

Sudano says in January 2024 someone from Alien Music reached out on behalf of the rappers to confirm its ownership of the “I Feel Love” composition and to request permission for sampling. “In considering the Defendant’s request, the Summer estate not only considered the immense commercial value of the composition, but also the potential degradation to Summer’s legacy,” the lawsuit reads.

“West is known as a controversial public figure whose conduct has led numerous brands and business partners to disassociate from him,” the suit continues. The estate denied permission to sample in early February, which it defined as “an absolute prohibition against any licensee (or other recording artist) covering I FEEL LOVE from using a Donna Summer ‘soundalike’ or using the original Donna Summer recording.”

The Vultures 1 album was released to the public on February 10, with the “Good (Don’t Die)” track featuring the song. “In the face of these repeated denials, West and Co-Defendants attempted to get around this roadblock by instead making an unauthorized interpolation,” the lawsuit alleges. The track has since been removed from Spotify and other major DSPs at the request of the Summer estate.

Photo Credit: Jan Folwarczny

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is facing yet another sexual assault lawsuit, this time from producer Rodney Jones Jr., also known as Lil Rod, who also accuses Combs of sexual grooming and improper payment for his work.

Rodney Jones Jr., best known as producer Lil Rod, has filed a sexual assault lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs, in Federal District Court in Manhattan on Monday, February 26. According to the lawsuit, Combs sexually assaulted and groomed Jones, as well as paying him improperly for his work as a producer on Combs’ The Love Album: Off the Grid.

Jones worked on nine songs in 2022 and 2023 that would eventually appear on Diddy’s recent release, The Love Album: Off the Grid. The graphic 73-page lawsuit details how Jones lived with the star for months at a time while working on the album.

During that time, Diddy allegedly grabbed his genitals without consent, forced him to hire sex workers and take part in sex acts with them, and attempted to groom Jones into having sex with another man. The filing describes how Diddy maintained control over the producer by making promises of fame, awards, and access to high-level record executives.

Jones’ lawsuit also alleges that he was forced to drink tequila shots laced with drugs while at a listening party at Diddy’s California residence in July 2023. After drinking the shots, Jones says he blacked out and woke up the next morning “naked with a sex worker sleeping next to him.”

The lawsuit cites several instances of illicit activity, many of which Jones claims to have recorded evidence, due to the fact that “Mr. Combs required Mr. Jones to record him constantly.” As a result, the filing claims that Jones has “secured hundreds of hours of footage and audio recordings of Mr. Combs, his staff, and his guests engaging in serious illegal activity.”

Among the accusations outlined include the acquisition and use of drugs, displaying and distribution of unregistered illegal firearms, laced alcoholic drinks being served to minors and sex workers, several (unnamed) celebrities engaging in sex with minors and sex workers, and actor Cuba Gooding Jr. sexually assaulting and harassing Jones.

Alongside Diddy, the lawsuit names Universal Music Group and several of its executives as defendants, including CEO Sir Lucian Grainge, as well as Motown Records and its former CEO Ethiopia Habtemariam, and Combs’ Chief of Staff, Kristina Khorram.

Photo Credit: CAA

British grime MC Wiley has been stripped of his Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) honor four years after an antisemitic rant in 2020. Here’s the latest.

Known as the ‘Godfather of Grime,’ Richard Kylea Cowie performs under the name Wiley. He was awarded the MBE in 2017 for his contribution to the music scene, but in 2020 he took to social media to spew hate against Jewish people—taking a page out of Kanye’s book. Wiley posted so many hateful comments that both Twitter and Facebook took action against his accounts, banning him from the platforms.

The posts included comparisons calling Jewish people ‘snakes’ and likening them to the terrorist organization, the Ku Klux Klan. The rant caused a rift between Wiley and his then-manager John Woolf, who is Jewish. “I do not support or condone what Wiley has said today online in any way, shape, or form,” Woolf told the media. “I am a proud Jewish man and I am deeply shocked and saddened by what he has chosen to say. This behavior and hateful speech is not acceptable to me.”

He was asked to retract the tweets and refused to do so, which led to action from the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) who sought the revocation of his MBE. Wiley later apologized for ‘generalizing’ about Jewish people on a Sky News segment, saying his comments should not have been directed at all people. Instead, he said the comments should have been kept “between me and my manager.”

CAA at the time said, “Our crime unit has reported this matter to the Metropolitan Police Service as we consider that Wiley has committed the offense of incitement to racial hatred, which can carry a substantial prison sentence. Our regulatory enforcement unit is contacting the Honours Forfeiture Committee at the Cabinet Office to ask that Wiley’s MBE be revoked, and we will be looking to ensure that no reputable label or manager works with him again.”

The Cabinet Office confirmed Wiley’s MBE was under review in August 2020. After more than four years, the Cabinet Office finally took action and stripped Wiley’s MBE for “bringing the honours system into disrepute.”

CAA praised the action, with Director of Investigations Stephen Silverman commenting, “Anti-Semites like Wiley must understand that we will work tirelessly to hold them to account. For four years, we have worked to ensure that Wiley faces ruinous consequences for his unhinged anti-Semitic tirade, for which he has shown no remorse. Today’s decision is a vindication of that effort.”

Photo Credit: Patrick Tomasso

An anonymous woman who sued Interscope Records co-founder Jimmy Iovine for sexual assault and battery has dropped her lawsuit.

The unidentified woman who sued Jimmy Iovine for sexual assault and battery has dropped her lawsuit against the Interscope Records co-founder. According to a lawyer representing the woman, as of Thursday (February 15), the case is “discontinued in its entirety with prejudice,” which means it cannot be refiled in the future.

Douglas Wigdor, a lawyer for the anonymous woman, said in a statement that “the matter was resolved to the satisfaction of the parties.” Whether a settlement was reached is unknown.

Jimmy Iovine founded Interscope Records and served as chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M under Universal Music Group. He launched Beats Music in 2014, and has been mostly retired since 2018.

The anonymous woman sued Jimmy Iovine in November for assault, battery, and violations of New York State’s gender-motivated violence and human rights laws. She alleged she had been “sexually abused, forcibly touched, and subjected to sexual harassment and retaliation” by Iovine in August 2007 while working with Interscope.

Notably, only the summons was filed, with lawyers for the accuser saying that a complaint would be filed, though it appears that filing never took place. The woman’s desire to remain anonymous may have created issues; in December, the judge overseeing the case denied a motion to allow her to continue with the suit anonymously because of “the lack of an affidavit of service.”

The case was brought about under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which extended the window for an additional year for survivors of sexual misconduct to submit their claims. Plaintiffs who would typically have been unable to sue due to the statute of limitations have taken advantage of the extension, filing lawsuits against such high-profile music industry figures as Sean “Diddy” Combs, former Epic Records exec L.A. Reid, and ex-Grammy CEO Neil Portnow.

Photo Credit: Kevin Burkett / CC by 2.0

Kanye and Ty Dolla $ign have a new album coming and to celebrate the duo hosted a listening party in Chicago. Ye sought permission from Ozzy Osbourne for a sample of “Iron Man” but was denied—he used it anyway. Now Ozzy is speaking out.

The new album is called ‘Vultures’ and a listening party was announced on February 5. Tickets to the event at the United Center in Chicago sold out the next day. The album was originally slated to be released on December 15, 2023 but sampling difficulties from Nicki Minaj and apparently Ozzy Osbourne have left the album without an official release date. Ozzy took to social media to decry the use of the sample and to clear the air—saying no permission was given.

“Kanye West asked permission to sample a section of a 1983 live performance of ‘Iron Man’ from the U.S. festival without vocals and was refused permission because he is an antisemite and has caused untold heartache to many,” Ozzy said on X/Twitter. “He went ahead and used the sample anyway at his album listening party last night. I want no association with this man!”

Sharon Osbourne also chimed in, saying her husband typically does not refuse to clear samples—but made a special occasion to refuse Kanye West’s use of the sample. In speaking with TMZ about the issue, Sharon Osbourne says the couple sent a cease & desist to the rapper after hearing about the sample being used in a live performance.

According to Rolling Stone, Kanye has already removed the sample of “Iron Man” from the album version of “Carnival.” Instead, the song now features a sample of the Kanye song, “Hell Of A Life,” which featured a legally-cleared sample of “Iron Man.”

Following a bout of anti-semitic comments made on social media in 2022, the rapper was subsequently suspended and faced many social repercussions. His lawyers, talent agency, and record label dropped him—while his billion-dollar deal with Adidas imploded. On December 26, 2023 he issued an apology in Hebrew to the Jewish community.

At the listening event for his album, he raps “How I’m antisemitic? I just fucked a Jewish bitch,” and the line “And I’m still crazy, bipolar, antisemite / And I’m still the king.”

Photo Credit: Crasianne Tirado, Chartmetric

Following the release of his latest album Coming Home, Usher — arguably the ‘King of R&B’ — triumphantly took the stage at the Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show in Vegas on Sunday. That was a sudden ‘blast from the past’ for many, though this comeback has been brewing for years.

Written by contributor Jaelani Turner-Williams for Chartmetric’s How Music Charts, a proud partner of DMN.

Usher offered a medley of greatest hits during his halftime show performance at Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday, February 11th. The now-45-year-old brought his bona fide showmanship to Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium with a heavy dose of nostalgia for longtime fans. But this comeback didn’t happen overnight: the R&B debonair, whose impact on the genre and music industry spans three decades, has been slowly reemerging for years.

Now on the media multi-platform and record label gamma., Usher is technically the first independent artist to headline a Super Bowl halftime show. Though much media attention has been given to superstar Taylor Swift and her beau Travis Kelce — not to mention the game itself — Usher stuffed his halftime gig with sidekicks like Alicia Keys, Lil Jon, Ludacris, and will.i.am.

Usher’s halftime performance comes just five days after announcing his upcoming “Past Present Future” tour and two days after he released his eagerly awaited ninth album, Coming Home. The bigger goal is to cement Usher as an r&b legend with evergreen superstar status.

Here’s a closer look at how this grand plan is coming together.

How R&B Re-Routed Back to Usher

Since 2022, Usher has been everywhere. His breakthrough 1997 album, My Way, celebrated its 25th anniversary with the R&B crooner remaking the front cover for record subscription club Vinyl Me, Please. The 8-time Grammy-winner appropriately timed his Las Vegas residency, “My Way,” for the LP’s silver jubilee, inviting legacy R&B acts like Keith Sweat, Keyshia Cole, Tevin Campbell, Faith Evans, Robin Thicke, and Teddy Riley to join him onstage.

While Usher’s Las Vegas run began in 2021, where he performed at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, recent mania for the artist originated from an unlikely place: NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts.

Clocking in at 21 million YouTube views since its Black Music Month premiere in June 2022, Usher’s resurgence was sealed five minutes into the special. In the video’s most played segment, Usher effortlessly floats through his 2004 deep cut “Superstar,” which saw prominence through the #SuperstarChallenge on TikTok, which now has 74.5 million views across 25k posts.

On the app, novice and established vocalists gave their best shot at Usher’s melisma, before he silenced the competition during his Tiny Desk set. Elsewhere in the performance, Usher brought the titular track of his RIAA diamond-certified album Confessions to life, turning the song’s “watch this” introduction into a meme.

Tiny Desk viewers rushed to catch the former The Voice co-judge’s Las Vegas residency the next month, although Usher hadn’t released a proper single since 2020’s “Bad Habits” (29.3 million Spotify streams), which came four years after his eighth studio album, Hard II Love.

The LP landed with a thud despite the clever Young Thug-assisted single “No Limit” (130.2 million Spotify streams), a nod to No Limit Records founder Master P (who was also on the song’s all-star remix). Two years later, Usher and trap producer Zaytoven connected for A, a love letter to their Atlanta origins. The 8-track project was helmed by the sultry lead single “Peace Sign.”

Apart from his solo work, Usher’s post-aughts granted him relevancy among late millennials and Gen Zers. On Summer Walker’s 2019 debut album Over It, the nostalgia play of her Usher-assisted single “Come Thru” reworked Ush’s hit “You Make Me Wanna…”, which was his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 back in 1997, peaking at No. 2.

Usher was a baby faced teenager when “You Make Me Wanna” dropped, but “Come Thru” made him fresh again, as he also lent his talents to songs with Ella Mai (“Don’t Waste My Time” in 2019), City Girls (“Good Love” in 2022), and more recently, Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz (“Transparency” in 2023).

As of late, Usher’s listenership relies on his material as a legacy act, with fans opting to spin his signature songs like “Yeah!,” “DJ Got Us Fallin’ in Love,” and his Alicia Keys duet “My Boo.” Even the recent Latin fusion single “Dientes” with J Balvin and DJ Khaled features Usher and a heavy "Yeah!" sample.

Usher might dabble in universal sounds, even giving selections from his catalog an Afrobeats twist at the Global Citizen Festival in Accra, Ghana in 2022 — but he’s still a purveyor of the genre that shaped him. “My music offering will always be routed in R&B,” he confessed to The New York Times in October.

Usher’s core fanbase has unflinchingly re-embraced him and the catalog he delivered in the nineties to early 2010s, with his performances and viral moments in 2023 pushing him back into the spotlight.

Usher’s Festival Season Takeover

In between Usher’s residency shows, the hitmaker made time to co-headline music festivals throughout the spring. In its most star-studded billing yet, Dreamville Festival tapped Drake and Usher as co-headliners for the two-day event, as Dreamville Records head honcho J. Cole closed out the weekend. Usher’s set marked his debut festival performance of his single "GLU,” released on March 17, 2023, after a 40-second Valentine’s Day teaser.

“GLU” was also a perfect storm of cultural cache since the teaser video starred Gen Z model and socialite Lori Harvey. The official lyric video garnered 4 million YouTube views and was followed by a Las Vegas rehearsal video, which dropped on April 18 and has 721k views.

By May, Usher was headed to Lovers & Friends, where he held down the Las Vegas Festival Grounds with co-headliners Mariah Carey and Missy Elliott. Joining Usher for his set (among others) were Summer Walker for their previously mentioned 2019 collaboration “Come Thru” and Muni Long for “Hrs & Hrs [Remix].”

Usher’s set was nearly derailed by allegations of Usher and Chris Brown getting into an altercation the night before. Still, the show went on, and Usher continued his Vegas residency afterward, later replacing Diddy as a co-headliner for Philadelphia’s Roots Picnic in June.

The Keke Palmer Situation: Viral Drama Brings Newfound Attention

In July, actress-singer Keke Palmer got the serenade of a lifetime from Usher at his Vegas residency. For the uninitiated, a part of Usher’s residency caters to a traditional sense of R&B, where male artist progenitors serenaded chosen audience members. Like he’s done with other female celebrity attendees, Usher graced Palmer’s VIP section with his 2010 ballad “There Goes My Baby,” which has 64 million Spotify streams.

The clip of Usher serenading Keke went viral — as did the reaction of her son's father — and led to discourse across social media about respectability politics.

Usher put the publicity to good use, dropping the breakup single "Good Good" featuring Summer Walker and 21 Savage and accompanying a music video. But the mid-tempo cut was no match for the show-stopping “Boyfriend,” a tongue-in-cheek dance jam aimed at Palmer’s ex — the casino-themed music video even has a cameo from the former child star herself.

Palmer was surely Usher’s muse, but instead of playing his love interest in “Boyfriend,” she transformed into the R&B extraordinaire, prepping for a girl’s night out to his residency (with Usher’s dancers, no less) and mimicking dance moves from his iconic 2001 “U Don’t Have to Call” video.

Along with a fun-filled single, the Palmer spectacle lionized Usher as a music icon who could still keep up with the times. “It was a pop moment, and it was fun to have at least [a] conversation going, and we just keep it light,” he told People days before “Boyfriend” was released.

From Paris to the Super Bowl Halftime Show

Kicking off the final part of 2023, in September, Usher was announced as the next artist to touch the Super Bowl halftime stage, succeeding Rihanna. While Usher won’t be debuting a baby bump for the occasion, he chatted with Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe about potential guests, COMING HOME, and 2024 marking the 20th anniversary of Confessions.

In October, Usher took Vegas overseas for his Rendez-Vous Á Paris residency at La Seine Musicale during Paris Fashion Week. Usher made the City of Lights groove during the residency’s eight nights of shows, transforming it into a captivating Parisian affair after nearly two years in Sin City.

One night, Migos member Offset was a special guest and he and Usher brought their Dirty South simpatico to Paris. Returning to Vegas for the last streak of the My Way residency that same month, Usher was honored with his own day and a key to the city.

Usher IS the King of R&B After All

Usher is well ahead of the new class of R&B, continuing to outperform his successors. On TikTok, the singer has 5.7 million followers, despite the app launching over 20 years after his debut album was released. Among R&B/Soul acts, he’s unquestionably influential, as Chartmetric data shows that Usher ranks within the top 15 artists in the genre. The popularity of “Dientes” skyrocketed after its September release, with “Yeah!” only becoming more popular with Latin music and reggaeton fans in tandem.

Bumps in Usher’s music streaming and video plays will likely come following the 2024 Super Bowl, and the cross-promotion for Coming Home will regain interest in fans who’ve attended his residency and crave new music after nearly ten years of anticipation. If the electronic sounds on 2010’s Raymond v. Raymond weren't enough, Usher promised to diversify his musical palette with Coming Home having R&B and hip-hop, crossing over into amapiano and Afrobeats.

Usher spruced up R&B with enthusiasm throughout 2023, the stats complimenting his shows and hype for his upcoming album while on the road for the Super Bowl. He’s been teasing a tour which was just announced, where he’ll reportedly bring his Vegas act to international arenas. The last year has been filled with preparation priming fans for the next chapter in his career. It's as if he's still behind that Tiny Desk, saying "Watch this."

Graphics by Nicki Camberg and cover image by Crasianne Tirado; data as of Feb. 9, 2024.

Photo Credit: RebKara / CC by 4.0

After a review of the evidence, country singer Chris Young is cleared of all charges by the Nashville District Attorney.

Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk has dismissed all charges against country singer Chris Young following his arrest on January 22 at Nashville’s DawgHouse Saloon. Young had been charged with disorderly conduct, assaulting an officer, and resisting arrest.

“Regarding the Chris Young incident, after a review of all the evidence in this case, the Office of the District Attorney has determined that these charges will be dismissed,” wrote Funk.

According to an affidavit for his arrest, Young had pulled his ID out for a compliance check by the Alcoholic Beverage Commission while out drinking at Tin Roof on Monday, January 22, around 8:30 PM. Young began asking questions and then he and his friends allegedly followed the officers to the DawgHouse Saloon as they continued their compliance checks.

“While walking out the door, Mr. Young put his hands out to stop me from leaving the bar and struck me on the shoulder. I then pushed Mr. Young to create distance since I had no idea of who Mr. Young was or what he had,” read the affidavit.

Chris Young was taken into custody and then released on bond. However, his attorney has claimed that account to be inaccurate. Reviewing evidence and security footage revealed that “Young could be seen reaching his hand out to the agent, who then pushed the singer, causing him to stumble backward and fall over a table and chair.” As a result, the charges against him were ultimately dropped.

“Mr. Young and I are gratified with the DA’s decision clearing him of the charges and any wrongdoing,” said Young’s attorney, Bill Ramsey, in a statement.

Chris Young rose to prominence in 2006 as the fourth season winner of singing competition program “Nashville Star.” He signed to RCA Records Nashville and released his self-titled debut album that same year, featuring the Hot Country singles “Drinkin’ Me Lonely” and “You’re Gonna Love Me.”

He has released five albums, with his most recent, I’m Comin’ Over, dropping in late 2015. Young became a member of the Grande Ole Opry in 2017.

Photo Credit: Suzy Brooks

After several sexually explicit AI-generated images featuring Taylor Swift’s face went viral online, the White House has issued a comment.

X/Twitter spent most of last week hiding searches for Taylor Swift as it worked to combat the viral spread of the images. The White House Press Secretary spoke about the issue on Friday, telling ABC News that what can be accomplished with AI tech is ‘alarming.’

“We are alarmed by the reports of the circulation of images that you just laid out—false images to be more exact—and it is alarming,” Karine Jean-Pierre told ABC News. “While social media companies make their own independent decisions about content management, we believe they have an important role to play in enforcing their own rules to prevent the spread of misinformation, and non-consensual, intimate imagery of real people,” she continued.

While there are content moderation policies in place on social media sites, X/Twitter’s Safety account re-iterated its policies without naming Taylor Swift.

Many Swift fans posted cute images and admiration of the singer in an effort to drown out reposts of the AI-generated deepfake nudes. The incident also has Congress discussing a bill to make non-consensual sharing of digitally-altered explicit images a federal crime.

The bipartisan “Preventing Deepfakes of Intimate Images Act” was introduced by Rep. Joe Morelle (D-NY) in 2023 and is currently referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. “We’re certainly hopeful the Taylor Swift news will help spark momentum and grow support for our bill, which as you know, would address her exact situation with both criminal and civil penalties,” a Morelle spokesperson told ABC.

The proliferation of AI images and image generation has made it easier than ever to create AI-assisted deepfake mash-ups of whatever concept you want. The Taylor Swift nudes creators used Microsoft Designer—a tool intended to make social media posts easier to create.

Photo Credit: Drew Ressler (CC by 3.0)

Georgia’s Gateway Center Arena cancels Bassnectar’s shows over sexual assault allegations which the EDM producer denies.

Electronic producer Bassnectar, who was scheduled to play two shows at the Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia, will not be performing at the venue following public backlash from an ongoing sexual assault lawsuit. The Gateway Arena has canceled both shows originally scheduled for April.

The producer, whose legal name is Lorin Ashton, has denied the allegations. Nevertheless, the Gateway Center Arena quickly canceled the shows and announced the launch of an “internal evaluation of the matter.”

“Upon learning about the allegations facing the artist Bassnectar, who was set to perform at the Gateway Center Arena on April 26 and 27, the Gateway Center Arena and City of College Park teams launched an internal evaluation of the matter,” the venue wrote in a post on social media on Thursday. “The safety and well-being of our community are of the utmost importance and as such, we have decided to cancel the event.”

The lawsuit originated in April 2021, when two women sued Ashton with allegations that he engaged in the sexual abuse of minors, human trafficking, and child pornography. Two more women joined the lawsuit a month later, though one of those women, who had wished to remain anonymous, withdrew from the lawsuit when the court required her to reveal her legal name. The case is currently in discovery, with a trial scheduled to begin in February 2025.

“Lorin Ashton has always denied these outrageous and offensive allegations,” said the producer’s attorneys in a statement to Billboard. “He’s never been found liable for anything or even charged with anything. This mob-driven decision is cancel culture gone mad. It is beyond appalling, and we can only hope American society will return to its senses before too much more damage is done.”

Georgia isn’t the only state to have canceled Bassnectar shows amid the allegations. In October, two shows were canceled that had been scheduled at Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina. Since his “comeback” launched last year, Bassnectar has played a pair of sold-out shows in Las Vegas in October, and another pair of sold-out shows in New York City on New Year’s Eve.

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Explicit AI-generated pictures of Taylor Swift begin circulating on social media, leading to X/Twitter doing damage control.

When explicit AI-generated fake pictures of Taylor Swift started circulating on X — formerly known as Twitter — her fans were quick to swarm the social media platform with real (not explicit) pictures of the star. This was an attempt to drown out the fakes otherwise dominating searches; fans also flagged the offending images en masse, leading to many accounts being banned for sharing content which violates X policies.

Specifically, X prohibits sharing “synthetic, manipulated, or out-of-context media that may deceive or confuse people and lead to harm.” And as those images were already viewed “tens of millions of times” before their removal from social media platforms, nothing on the internet can ever be truly considered gone forever, fake or not.

The incident comes amid growing concerns in the music industry and beyond about AI-generated images and videos that can lead to the spread of misinformation — particularly worrisome as the United States heads into a presidential election year.

X has effectively gutted its moderation team since its transition into Elon Musk rule, relying primarily on user reporting and automated systems, but most social media companies don’t really have plans in place to tackle the moderation of fakes. Similarly, Meta made significant cuts to its moderation teams that otherwise tackled coordinated harassment and disinformation campaigns.

“This is indicative of a larger kind of fracturing of content moderation and platform governance, because if all the stakeholders — the AI companies, social media companies, regulators, and civil society — are not talking about the same things and on the same page about how to address these issues, this type of content is just going to continue to proliferate,” said Ben Decker of digital investigations agency Memetica.

But Taylor Swift has the uncanny ability to bring people (including legislators) together. And perhaps the targeting of a star as significant as Taylor Swift will draw more attention to issues surrounding AI-generated imagery.

Photo Credit: Andy Moran for Dig Boston / CC by 2.0

The Grand Ole Opry apologizes to fans offended by Elle King’s expletive-laden rant during her performance at a Dolly Parton tribute concert for the superstar’s birthday.

Fans who worked nine to five and then paid $300 for tickets to the Grand Ole Opry for a tribute concert celebrating Dolly Parton’s 78th birthday were understandably upset when singer Elle King, who described herself as “f—king hammered,” couldn’t remember Dolly’s lyrics during her performance.

The concert at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on Friday, January 19, featured tributes from Ashley Monroe, Terri Clark, Tigirlily Gold, and Dailey and Vincent. But during Elle King’s cover of Parton’s 2001 track “Marry Me,” the singer admitted she couldn’t remember the lyrics.

Video clips captured the incident on social media, with King singing instead lines like “I don’t give a s—t,” and “I don’t know the lyrics to these things in this f—king town… Don’t tell Dolly, ‘cause it’s her birthday.”

“I’m not even gonna lie. That’s a b-side for you, I’m not even gonna f—kin’ lie. Y’all bought tickets for this s—t? You ain’t getting your money back,” King told a stunned crowd before adding, “Hi, my name is Elle King and I’m f—king hammered.”

A member of King’s band suggested she play one of her own songs instead of trying to cover another one of Parton’s, to which King responded, “I can barely play another person’s song, let me see if I can play one of mine.”

Fans were livid, with many taking to social media to express their disappointment that such a performance would take place at the iconic country music venue. “It was such a disappointment to spend $300 on tickets for a show where one of the artists ruined an entire night,” tweeted one attendee.

In response, the Opry tweeted, “We deeply regret and apologize for the language that was used during last night’s second Opry performance.”

Even Dolly’s sister, singer Stella Parton, tweeted her disappointment with King’s performance, writing that “some lil girl by the name of Elle King apparently cussed and insulted some of Dolly’s fans by not knowing a song.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time a hillbilly went on the stage of the Opry ‘hammered’ but I guess it’s okay if you’re a male. But good lord, don’t ever let a girl behave that way folks! Double f—king standard if you ask me,” Stella added, before noting that “any lil ego thinking they can learn the lyrics correctly with a half-assed listen,” should do their homework, lest they “end up looking as silly as that lil girl.”

Dolly Parton celebrated her birthday last week with the release of a deluxe edition of her debut rock album, Rockstar, with nine bonus songs.

Photo Credit: JD & The Straight Shot

Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan faces a sexual assault lawsuit from a massage therapist stemming from 2013 allegations, some of which involve convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein.

A massage therapist has filed a sex assault and trafficking lawsuit in California federal court this week against Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan, with allegations stemming from a 2013 tour featuring the Eagles and Dolan’s vanity project, JD & The Straight Shot.

In the filing, the now 38-year-old Kellye Croft claims Dolan pressured her into a sexual relationship while she worked as a massage therapist in 2013 for the late Eagles frontman Glenn Frey.

As part of her deal as a masseuse for Frey, Croft was permitted to massage other members of both the Eagles and Dolan’s band, which were playing together during the former’s Los Angeles residency. Notably, Croft’s hiring was financed in part by Dolan’s business, which also allowed his band to join the Eagles’ residency.

Following an incident with Eagles manager Tom Golseth, Dolan “promised to handle the situation,” after which Golseth was expelled from the tour. Dolan later used the incident as an “in” to make a sexual advance toward Croft at the end of his massage.

Although Croft told him she was uninterested, as Dolan was 30 years her senior and married, she ultimately submitted to his advances “because of Dolan’s position of influence.” This led to ongoing sexual encounters throughout the tour.

During this time, both parties were staying at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, where Croft encountered Harvey Weinstein while waiting for an elevator. Weinstein approached her and said he was friends with Dolan, and was looking for a masseuse on his movie sets. As this was before the #MeToo movement, Croft agreed to discuss the job in Weinstein’s suite, where he began demanding a massage.

Croft declined, at which point Weinstein allegedly told her that “this is just how people do things in Hollywood,” and if she “(would) not be able to handle things on the fly, you won’t make it in Hollywood.”

She says she left his suite and retreated to her own room, but says Weinstein followed her wearing only a robe, forced her back onto a bed, and attempted to penetrate her. Croft says she was saved by the phone, which rang at that moment and gave her an opportunity to escape.

Weinstein allegedly told Croft that “(Dolan) and I are best friends,” and “he’s going to be very disappointed you led me on; this won’t look good for you.”

The suit contends that Dolan had arranged for Weinstein to encounter Croft at the hotel lobby, but does not elaborate further. Croft is seeking unspecified damages, asserting her experiences led to a downward spiral of depression and drug use.

Attorneys for both Dolan and Weinstein have denied the allegations. Weinstein is currently serving 39 years in prison for sex crimes in Los Angeles and New York.

The lawsuit is the latest to be filed as part of a newly opened window for sexual offenses that took place in California between 2009 and 2019, which remains open until 2026.

Photo Credit: Greg Hernandez / CC by 2.0

Nigel Lythgoe officially steps down from ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ following multiple sexual assault allegations, including a lawsuit from Paula Abdul.

Choreographer and executive producer Nigel Lythgoe is stepping down from his position as a judge on “So You Think You Can Dance” following two lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault. The first lawsuit alleges that Lythgoe groped and “forcibly kissed” Paula Abdul in an elevator nearly 20 years ago. The second, filed by two “All-American Girl” contestants, also accuses Lythgoe of similar behavior in 2003.

Lythgoe, who has been a judge on “So You Think You Can Dance” since its debut in 2005, announced he would “step back from participating” in the forthcoming season of the show to focus on “clearing my name and restoring my reputation.”

“I have informed the producers of ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ of my decision to step back from participating in this year’s series,” Lythgoe tells Variety. “I did so with a heavy heart but entirely voluntarily, because this great program has always been about dance and dancers, and that’s where its focus needs to remain.”

Meanwhile, Sony Pictures Television’s 19 Entertainment, a co-producer of the show, has opened an investigation into Lythgoe. 19 Entertainment, alongside Dick Clark Productions, revealed that the upcoming season will proceed, but without Lythgoe, “to ensure the show remains committed to the contestants, who have worked incredibly hard for the opportunity to compete on our stage.”

The 18th season of “So You Think You Can Dance” premieres on March 4 on Fox, with judges Allison Holker and Maksim Chmerkovskiy — but no decisions have been made yet for a judge to replace Lythgoe.

Paula Abdul, who was a judge on the Lythgoe-produced “So You Think You Can Dance” and “American Idol,” sued Lythgoe on December 29 under California’s Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act. This legislature revived lawsuits that would otherwise be barred by the statute of limitations.